White Space – Carol Baxendale
ISBN: 9781788648547
£12.99
Karen has taken photographs since she was nine, showing off her Anglo-Norwegian lifestyle, and has found her most enthusiastic audience yet: the mature student, Steven.
And what better way to escape their problems than go on a student-exchange to an art school in Oslo? But Karen’s real problem is something she can’t admit, even to herself. What caused her Norwegian grandmother to grow distant towards her, and her mother to stay silent?
Ranging from Norwich to the north of Norway, White Space is a story of the destructive power of denial, and the need for identity. As Steven and Karen make art, will they dig deep enough to face the truth about themselves? Will they ever come to terms with the consequences of their past?
Author biography
Having gained an MA in Printmaking from the Slade School of Art in the eighties, Carol went on to teach at degree level and exhibit in the UK and Norway. A Norwegian government scholarship gave her the opportunity to work as a practising artist in Oslo – a city that now plays a major role in her novel. She became a student again in her forties, and completed the MA in Creative Writing at the UEA. Her short stories have appeared in various magazines and anthologies, including New Writing 10, published by Picador. She was one of the highly-commended winners of the Bridport prize in 2005 with her short story, Steady Hand. White Space is her debut novel, and was shortlisted for the Cinnamon Press literature award in 2024.
Born in Broughty Ferry, she moved to Gloucestershire when she was eleven. She currently lives in Norwich, often distracted by the wildlife in her garden – feeding birds, rescuing sick hedgehogs, and watching frogs in the pond when they think they’re not being watched.