Orchid and the Wasp

2020 Longlist

A tough, thoughtful, and savvy opportunist, Gael Foess is determined to live life on her own terms. Raised in Dublin by single-minded, careerist parents, Gael learns early how a person’s ambitions and ideals can be compromised and she refuses to let her vulnerable, unwell younger brother, Guthrie, suffer such sacrifices.

When Gael’s financier father walks out on them during the economic crash of 2008, her family fractures. Her mother, a once-formidable orchestral conductor, becomes a shadow. And a fateful incident prevents Guthrie from finishing high school. Determined not to let her loved-ones fall victim to circumstance, Gael leaves Dublin for the coke-dusted social clubs of London and Manhattan’s gallery scene, always working an angle, but beginning to become a stranger to those who love her.

About the Author

Caoilinn Hughes is an Irish writer whose poetry collection Gathering Evidence won the Irish Times Shine/Strong Award. She is a fellow of the James Merrill Foundation, the Bogliasco Foundation, the Tin House Workshop, and has received a Literature Bursary Award from the Arts Council of Ireland.

Librarian’s Comments

Gael Foss lives with her ill younger brother and their parents who give attention only to their career.  The book is the girl’s coming of age story across different places and in circumstances of economic collapse and family dynamics. Themes and messages of morality, mental health, class, religion and contemporary politics are written in a modern and unique style. Katona József Library of Bács-Kiskun County, Hungary