Change Me into Zeus's Daughter
Change Me into Zeus's Daughter is a haunting and ultimately triumphant memoir about growing up poor and undaunted in the South. With an unflinching voice, Barbara Robinette Moss chronicles her family's chaotic, impoverished survival in the red-clay hills of Alabama. A wild-eyed, alcoholic father and a humble, heroic mother along with a shanty full of rambunctious brothers and sisters fill her life to the brim with stories that are gripping, tender, and funny.
Moss's early fascination with art coincides with her desire to transform her "twisted mummy face," which grew askew due to malnutrition and lack of medical care. Gazing at the stars on a clear Alabama night, she wishes to be the "goddess of beauty, much-loved daughter of Zeus." Against all odds, the image of herself surfaces at last as she learns to believe in the beauty she brings forth from inside.
Moss's early fascination with art coincides with her desire to transform her "twisted mummy face," which grew askew due to malnutrition and lack of medical care. Gazing at the stars on a clear Alabama night, she wishes to be the "goddess of beauty, much-loved daughter of Zeus." Against all odds, the image of herself surfaces at last as she learns to believe in the beauty she brings forth from inside.
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Buy from us:
- Scribner |
- 320 pages |
- ISBN 9780743219501 |
- January 2002
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Praise
“Stewart O'Nan Like Carson McCullers and Lewis Nordan before her, Barbara Robinette Moss makes immediate and intimate her own sad and funny Southern childhood. At once poetic and plainspoken, Change Me into Zeus's Daughter celebrates the wonders -- good and bad”
– of discovering the world outside herself and uncovering the even deeper, more secret world of her family.
-
“Stewart O'Nan Like Carson McCullers and Lewis Nordan before her, Barbara Robinette Moss makes immediate and intimate her own sad and funny Southern childhood. At once poetic and plainspoken, Change Me into Zeus's Daughter celebrates the wonders -- good and bad”– of discovering the world outside herself and uncovering the even deeper, more secret world of her family.
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“Jack Davis Vice President/Planning, Chicago Tribune Publishing The reader is witness to stunningly beautiful moments frozen by a remarkable natural writer. This book will hold you with the horror and comedy of a family's survival, and with the control and clarity and passion of the storyteller. ”
Read an Excerpt
Near the Center of the Earth
Mother spooned the poisoned corn and beans into her mouth, ravenously, eyes closed, hands shaking. We, her seven children, sat around the table watching her for signs of death, our eyes leaving her only long enough to glance at the clock to see how far the hands had moved. Would she turn blue, like my oldest sister, Alice, said? Alice sat hunched next to me in the same white kitchen chair, our identical homemade cotton dresses blending into one. She shoved my shoulder with hers as if I were disturbing her concentration and stared unblinking at Mother. Each time Mother hesitated, spoon in...
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