The Mourner’s Bestiary

In this stunning and original debut, writer and musician Caffall draws links between hereditary illness and the fates of marine life in collapsing ecosystems. For 200 years, Caffall’s family has passed down polycystic kidney disease (PKD), a chronic condition whose sufferers have an average life expectancy of 50 years. The author first learned of the “Caffall Curse” at nine years old, when the disease was starting to kill her father. At the same time, she was learning about the environmental decay affecting crabs and eels in the Long Island Sound, where her family often vacationed. In the present, a middle-aged Caffall reflects on her complicated feelings about parenthood, knowing she may have passed PKD on to her son. When the two of them take a trip to an island off the coast of Maine, Caffall has a seizure. After being rescued by the Coast Guard, she reflects on the algae threatening lobster and humpback whales in the Gulf of Maine, which gives the animals symptoms similar to those brought on by PKD. While the memoir’s conceit might feel forced in lesser hands, Caffall brilliantly parallels her family’s suffering with large-scale ecological upheaval, maintaining a flicker of hope for the future in both cases. This deserves a wide readership. Agent: Julia Lord, Julia Lord Literary. (Oct.)