Mama & the Hungry Hole

by Johanna DeBiase

In a narrative interwoven with fairytales, the lines that divide memories from dreams blur in the fourth book of the Wordcraft of Oregon Fabulist Novella Series, Mama & the Hungry Hole, by Johanna DeBiase. Julia is 4-years-old and her Mama has stolen her away to the mountains of northern New Mexico where everything is unfamiliar and everyone is unknown. Lonely and often forced to take care of herself during Mama's many "quiet times," Julia befriends a tree. Tree has been around longer than anyone and witnessed the village change from thriving ranching town to hippie commune to bedroom community. When Julia's Nana comes to visit and a traveling Circus moves in next door it seems like everything will change for the better, but Tree is the first to notice the eerie sensation of nothingness deep beneath its roots.

156 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2015

About the author

Johanna DeBiase writes from New Mexico where she is spellbound by the energy vortex of Taos Mountain. Originally from New York, she earned her BA in Literature and Creative Writing from Bard College and her MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College. Her work-- including flash fiction, short stories and video poems-- has been published in Hayden's Ferry Review, Atticus Review, Portland Review, Queen Mob's Tea House, Monkeybicycle and Prick of the Spindle, among others. She has received scholarships to attend the San Miguel Writer's Conference and Vermont Studio Center. She is a freelance journalist for such sites as Writer's Digest, Foreword Reviews, Bustle and xoJane, as well as, Taos News. She is also the producer of the podcast Yoga for Writing. The rest of the time, she is a certified yoga instructor, vintage clothing boutique owner and mother of one. Follow her on Twitter @JohannaDeBiase or visit her website: www.JohannaDeBiase.com

Reviews

[Bear Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Johanna Debiase uses magical realism and the art of storytelling in a way that is both disturbing and refreshing in this novella. A fairy tale sits at the heart of this story and the mysterious hole seems to be symbolic of birth, death and rebirth. We come from a hole and, at the end, we are put into a hole (Is that too crass? Who knows. I was pumped full of epidural at the time so I had "the cheap seats" in that experience, as Lorelai would say). That abyss is something that beckons us every day from the moment we're born... and some of us make an active choice to seek it's oblivion (Mama) and some of us slip into it regardless of how hard we fight (Tree).

The voice of Tree lent an especially interesting point-of-view to this story. It made me think about how throughout our lives, we are unknowingly on a stage... a play that others are watching. This thought gave me a new perspective on how we live our everyday lives and what our actions say to those around us.

DeBiase's writing was lyrical yet accessible and I feel she was able to successfully speak as an adult, a child... and an inanimate object. Her writing style and her ability to put herself into various voices so seamlessly and so dynamically leaves me excited for what else I can expect from this author

[Flora Mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Johanna Debiase's amazing depiction of death and mental illness as a literal hole growing in the backyard is a perfect metaphor. The book takes the viewpoints of a little girl, her mother, and a tree. Not only is the story in general beautifully written but tiny fairytales are also woven in and out of the pages making this world Debiase has created seem even more fantastical. The ending of this novella is probably the most well done and surprising I've ever read. Truly a work of art.

[Gavi · Rating 3 out of 5]

False memories are so crazy this book was good but a hard change of pace from The Lord of the Rings

[Mcreynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book free from Goodreads as a First Reads.

This is my first written review on Goodreads!

I did not really enjoy this story. The writing style was pleasant, however I did not find the characters or story engaging. As a novella, there was little world building, I felt I was missing background information.

[Johanna DeBiase · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm the author so any review I give should not be trusted, but here are a couple of objective reviews you can check out...

http://prickofthespindle.org/2015/04/...

http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1...