Galloway, Janice. (b. 1956).

W o r k

- novelist and short story writer, poet, and librettist

- represents Scottish postmodern writing: employs an ironic world-weary humour, depicts the Scottish urban experience in late Capitalism, and gives voice to the feminine condition in Scottish working-class communities

The Trick is to Keep Breathing (1989):

- a novel capturing the inner life of Joy, a woman in her late twenties, a drama teacher, and an anorectic-alcoholic

- follows the onset and development of depression she incurs after her married lover's accidental death

- lightens the subject with wit and irony found in moments of despair

Foreign Parts (1994):

- a novelistic account of dysfunctional relationships, both between men and women and between women friends

- set in France, where two women in their late thirties, single and childless, go together for a holiday

- contrasts the nervous and dependent Cassie x the plodding and dominant Rona against the background of an uncomfortable low-budget holiday filled with unpleasant incidents

Where You Find It (1996):

- a collection of short stories dealing with the nature of love

- shows love between men and women and family love sometimes as self-deceptive, often as destructive, and always as highly unromantic

Clara (2002):

- a novel about the 19^th century musician Clara Schumann and her husband Robert Schumann

- distils memory, poetry, and music to examine the way artists forge patterns out of chaos

Monster (2002):

- an opera libretto in collaboration with the composer Sally Beamish, based on the life of Mary Shelley