Weekend Review: Backstitch

 

Backstitch / Marian Mitchell Donahue
Boston, MA: Galiot Press, c2026.
314 p.

This is a novel I have been wanting to read since I saw it mentioned in pre-publication! Fortunately I found it in one of my online library resources -- I had to read it right away. 

It's the story of two girls growing up in a household in which their mother Alice is a focused and somewhat notable artist, with all the distracted, moody , self-centred artist stereotypes going on. Her work always takes first place, and the sisters are often used as models, woken up in the middle of the night and dragged down to the studio to pose in the cold - or arranged into a tableau in the wet garden as needed - until finally one day their father Arthur comes home in the midst of one set piece and puts an end to it. 

The two girls, Violet and Marigold, see themselves as inseparable but as they grow older, Violet, the eldest, follows Arthur's footsteps into academia, while Marigold becomes a working artist - but careful not to turn into her mother. 

As the book opens, Violet is heading into a large retrospective show honouring their mother, put together by Marigold. Violet is uncomfortable with the huge show promos featuring a painting of her as a child - her own eyes follow her as she arrives. From this moment, we move backward through their lives, and their parents' lives, getting the more complete story bit by bit. The story is mapped out against the rooms of the exhibit, and the structure adds a really interesting element to this novel. The story is told backward, stitching the perspectives of all four family members together. 

The title and theme also come from Alice's breakthrough in her work - the inclusion of stitching into her wild canvases. This stitching reflects the past, her fractured relationship with her family of origin, the way she engages with the symbols of domesticity, and the secrets she keeps about and from her daughters. Her stitching plays a role in the resolution of some of these plot threads as well. 

It's a complex study of art, artistic temperament and emotional neglect -- both in Alice's past and the way she relates to her daughters. It can be hard reading, but it is also beautifully written, with both art (Alice) and astronomy (Arthur) creating visual impact. You'll wish you could see an Alice Snyder piece in real life after this. If you enjoy thoughtful reads with difficult family dynamics, women's struggles to find their authentic path, discussions of art, ethics, and long-held secrets, I think you'll like this one too.