About mothers who are writers and women who write LITTLE LABORS by Rivka Galchen, like some of the most interesting writing being written today, is hard to categorize. She writes regularly for The New Yorker, whose editors selected her for their list of "20 Under 40" American fiction writers in 2010.Her debut novel, the critically acclaimed Atmospheric Disturbances, was published by FSG in 2008.
“And Bethuel had a daughter Rivka" (Genesis 22:23). They wore chocolate foil wrappers, string and tape. Not at all,” she says. Her latest, the children’s novel “ Rat Rule 79 ,” was published last year. I met Galchen at a cafe a few blocks from Times Square, close to her home. (Javier Ramirez) "Rivka Galchen's Rat Rule 79 is clever and strange and so very much fun, but what makes Rat Rule 79 so remarkable is the warmth and wisdom that exudes from its pages.A subversive Wizard of Oz for kids too smart for their own good, it's sure to become many a young readers' favorite book for years to come." M y 5-year-old daughter had been called the Buddha baby. When the news was about shortages of P.P.E., the figurines started to dress differently. Sections have headings such as ‘Wasps’, ‘Chewing Gum’, ‘Tin Cans’, ‘Toilet Bowls’ and ‘August Sander’.
Rivka Galchen’s Little Labors is a droll and dazzling compendium of observations, stories, lists, and brief essays about babies and literature. Her latest, the children’s novel “ Rat Rule 79 ,” was published last year. Rivka Galchen writes essays and fiction, most recently ‘‘Rat Rule 79,’’ a book for young readers.
Rivka Galchen is the author of four books. Related: Rivka Galchen. She lives in New York City.
Why did my sweet 5-year-old become so stormy when she started kindergarten? Not by me, but by many a stranger and friend — reliable observers. By Rivka Galchen. I met Galchen at a cafe a few blocks from Times Square, close to her home.
Brief, gemlike reflections on adjusting to life under the rule of a baby daughter (called ‘the puma’) are interwoven with literary and historical references. Prime mother-daughter book club fodder.” —Summer Dawn Laurie, Books Inc. (Berkeley, CA) "Rivka Galchen's Rat Rule 79 is clever and strange and so very much fun, but what makes Rat Rule 79 so remarkable is the warmth and wisdom that exudes from its pages. • Little Labours is published by 4th Estate. Photo Credit Mark Peterson/Redux, for The New York Times. The letter to an unborn daughter is followed by pages that resemble extracts from the journal of a slightly mad 19th-century naturalist.
—Anya Kamenetz, NPR May 28, 2020 Pandemic Seen from the Eyes of a Puma By: Rivka Galchen. Rivka Galchen is the author of four books. About how a child changes things. The Torah introduces us to Rivka at the same moment that Avraham is looking for a marriage partner for Yitzhak.
Related books: Little Labors. ―David Gonzalez, Skylight Books (Los Angeles, CA)