The Head
Robyn Braun
Description
A surreal and penetrating tale of academia, work life, and surviving trauma.
On the morning of her thirtieth birthday, Dr. Trish Russo, a math professor at Cascadia University, discovers a disembodied but living infant head on her dresser. Attached to nothing, somehow it still manages to wail and produce tears. Unsure what else to do, she takes it with her to work, if only to keep her neighbours from complaining about the head’s terrible cries.
At the university, her colleagues are mortified, not of the head itself, but that Trish has brought it into the office with her. She is soon put on leave and hopes that visiting her parents might provide some solace and advice on what she should do with the head. But no matter where she turns, Trish finds no help and is instead vilified for not knowing what to do with this impossible thing that has happened to her.
The Head is a bizarre journey through trauma, bad relationships, and toxic workplace culture.
Advance Praise for The Head
“Intelligent, spooky, original, and fall-down funny, The Head runs in dark layers from page one.” – Jason Emde, author of Little Bit Die
“Robyn Braun’s The Head pulses with the abject horror of those worrying parts of your being you can’t put your finger on but just can’t seem to throw away.” – K.I. Press author of Exquisite Monsters, Types of Canadian Women, Spine, and Pale Red Footprints
“A stunning achievement: compelling, disturbing, and thought-provoking, the sort of book that stays with you long after you finish it.” – Michelle Barker, author of My Long List of Impossible Things, and The House of 1000 Eyes
“Astonishing and smart. The Head will leave you thinking long after the last word.” – Robin van Eck, author of Rough
“Propulsive and darkly comedic, The Head, takes a good honest look at what it means to carry childhood trauma into adulthood. A whirlwind read that will make you laugh, cry, grit your teeth, and ultimately, feel at peace. Highly recommend! “ – Shelly Kawaja, author of The Raw Light of Morning
Robyn Braun
Additional information
| Format: | Epub, Paperback |
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“The idea of a woman bringing a disembodied head to work came to me and then sat in a drawer for several years,” Braun says. She thought it would be interesting and funny to set the story at the university: “What happens when you bring an inarticulate, sobbing blob of messy upset to the university? It ain’t pretty.” – Robyn Braun is interviewed by Bev Sandell Greenberg in the last issue of Prairie Books Now.
“Braun’s first novella is a disturbing, thought-provoking and uncategorizable (feminist?) work of fiction.” — Thalia Stopa, Scout Book Club
