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  • Writer's pictureAllen & Unwin
    • 2 min read

All the Words We Know by Bruce Nash

Learn more about this wickedly funny and genuinely moving novel.

All the Words We Know by Bruce Nash

Bruce Nash’s All the Words We Know is a poignant and humorous exploration of memory, language, and love, perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Jonas Jonasson. The novel centres on Rose, an octogenarian with dementia who remains sharp-witted despite her lapses in memory. Living in an aged-care facility, Rose navigates a world of routine visits from her emotionally distant family and quirky interactions with the staff and residents. Her life takes a dramatic turn when her friend’s mysterious death propels her into an unconventional and deeply personal investigation.


In “All the Words We Know,” Nash masterfully blends comedy and emotion, drawing readers into Rose’s eccentric quest for truth. As Rose uncovers secrets about those around her and herself, the novel delves into the complexities of loneliness and the ways we understand and communicate with each other. With its rich characterizations and heartfelt narrative, this novel offers a moving reflection on the human experience, making it a must-read for those who appreciate stories that are as heartwarming as they are entertaining.


The Sydney Morning Herald recently reviewed this captivating and thought-provoking novel, calling it, “more than a detective story of gaslighting, fraud, and murder – it takes the reader on a dizzy ride through the mind of a fiercely intelligent woman who, though confined physically in a nursing home and mentally in a mind whose maps and signposts are vanishing, is hunting for truth.”


Read on for a special letter from Bruce Nash, where he shares his inspiration and thoughts on creating this unforgettable story.


A NOTE FROM BRUCE NASH Dear Reader Welcome to the world of whatsitsname. A place of forgetting and remembering, of language deficit and the love of words, of powerlessness and indomitability, of fear and laughter and heartbreak and joy. Welcome to Rose. Rose is a woman in her eighties, resident of an aged care facility where her friend has died in mysterious circumstances. Rose's life may have been reduced to the confines of her bed, her wheelchair and her walker, but she is infinitely larger than her limitations. Hellbent on understanding the sinister goings-on around her and overcoming the dangers that threaten her, she first must find a way to access her memories, at the lost centre of which is the truth about the great love of her life. All the Words We Know is, at its heart, a story about how we make sense of the world. Some years ago when my own mother went into care, I can say with reasonable certainty that I wasn't thinking about getting a novel out of it. Nevertheless. The setting proved irresistible. When I asked another resident how they liked living there, I was answered with some outrage: 'Oh no, I don't live here! No, no, no, I'm only visiting!' That, I suspect, was the spark for this book. Then when I sat down to write, Rose began to speak. Not my mother, not anyone I knew, but a force of nature with whom I could only do my best to keep up. It's no great exaggeration to say that the business of writing this book was a matter of turning up every day to find out what amazing thing Rose would say or do next. I hope you enjoy Rose, as well as the Fellow Who Doesn't Live Here, the Nice Boy Who Mops the Floors, the Angry Nurse, the Scare Manager, Rose's long suffering son and daughter, and all the rest. All I know about writing is to try to follow what's alive, and lose the rest. As far as I am concerned, Rose is very much alive. Anything else, as Rose would say, is whatsitsname. Bruce Nash.

 
All the Words We Know by Bruce Nash

All the Words We Know

by Bruce Nash


A wickedly funny and genuinely moving novel about memory, language and love.




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