People with No Charisma

From the International Booker Prizeshortlisted author of What Id Rather Not Think About comes a darkly humorous novel about multigenerational family dynamics and individuality in Dutch suburbia. An unnamed narrator grows up overshadowed by her unconventional mother, an ex-Jehovahs witness and former television star with an inferiority complex. Her father is the head of a psychiatric institution, whose only form of parenting is to offer his daughter the same life advice he dispenses to his patients. Reserved and somewhat aloof, he chooses not to intervene when his wife obsesses about charisma, calorie counting, and turning their daughter into a child prodigy. Their daughter strives to meet her mothers expectations and bond with her father while secretly worrying she lacks the drive or charisma to do anything significant with her life. When her mother is diagnosed with terminal cancer, she begins to address their generational trauma, forge a new relationship with her father, and discover life on her terms. In twelve chapters each reflecting a different phase of life Posthuma expertly dissects a fraught family history, exposing the absurdity that often lies at the heart of lifes most poignant and challenging moments.