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Camilla Gibb was born in London in 1968. She grew up and studied in Canada, before returning to England to do a DPhil in anthropology at Oxford. She lives in Toronto, Mouthing the Words is her first novel.
To say this book is strange is an understatement. Luckily it is also beautiful, increadibly moving and at turns very amusing. Thelma tells her story from early childhood to adulthood; it is a horrific story of sexual abuse at the hands of her father, gradually illuminated through her thoughts and imaginings. As she moves between England and Canada, Thelma sinks deeper and deeper into mental illness. In her childhood this manifests itself as imaginary friends who at times take over her personality, blurring borders between the terrible reality and her strange but evocative imagination. The book's language is captivating and poetic, the characters are realistic, and the situations in which Thelma finds herself are heatbreaking, hilarious and always touching - often disturbing but justified. Thelma's monologues are at times reminiscent of Virginia Woolf and feminism is also a recurring theme. At times the language is verbose, and the images obscure, but this does not detract significantly from a brilliant novel. While reading it, anything else is an annoying distraction. (Kirkus UK)
