reviews & praise

"These stories are fantastic — in both senses of the word. They are also eerie and moving, and they mark the debut of a very gifted young writer."
—Ann Packer

"The Mother Garden presents a wonderful new voice. I found the stories full of lively quirkiness, many individual sentences pulsing with surprising word choices and imagery, and graceful endings that made me smile — sometimes quite nervously, but always appreciatively."
—Ann Beattie

"Imagination soars over sorrow in these heartfelt, darkly comic — and most important — fearless stories. Robin Romm is a writer of tremendous grace, and this is a striking first collection." —Peter Orner

"Whimsical and affecting...Most of [Romm’s] work leaves room for rational interpretation. No magic here, Romm seems to insist.But of course there is, and it's the oldest kind we know: the ordinary incantation of words and stories to help us navigate the darkness and finally—for all that this impressive collection protests otherwise—to hold the end at bay."
—Gregory Cowles, New York Times Sunday Book Review
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"Romm is too honest to invoke soapy sentiment; she has a darkly humorous tone, an eye for surreal possibilities and an engrossing voice that establishes distance without sacrificing emotional effect. This debut collection augurs a promising future for her." —Miami Herald

"While funny and surreal, the stories in budding talent Robin Romm's fiction offering The Mother Garden, are rooted in grief." —Vanity Fair

"[An] intrepid investigation of loss…This spirited voice reminds us that Romm is among the company of writers who let difficult subjects guide their imagination." —San Francisco Chronicle

"In Ms. Romm's impressive collection of 12 stories…[she] offers glimpses into new ways of seeing the world." —New York Times

"This debut collection from wunderkind Robin Romm is spare, heart-wrenching and graceful, the mark of a deep soul."
—The Louisville Courier-Journal

"Mortality is a subject oft exploited in literature, but Romm is careful to sidestep the mawkish and the trite...This is one debut author who is not afraid to take risks. Bizarre twists of fate, sometimes verging on magical realism, cause her otherwise straightforward tales to careen off course in exciting and unpredictable ways." —San Diego Union Tribune

"A combination of spare prose and fantastic events make Romm's seemingly simple tales startling and compelling." —Booklist

"The bizarre twists in Romm's otherwise familiar stories require the reader to take leaps of faith, but the author handles the material delicately and matter-of-factly, making it believable. Imaginative and insightful."
—Kirkus Reviews

"... simple and yet utterly bizarre, the perfect reading material for a lazy Sunday afternoon. These edgy, often comic tales capture magical moments in the lives of ordinary individuals." —Zink Magazine