People with No Charisma

An unnamed narrator grows up overshadowed by her unconventional mother, an ex-Jehovah's witness and former television star with an inferiority complex. Her father is the head of a psychiatric institution, whose only form of parenting is to offer his daughter the same life advice he dispenses to his patients. Reserved and somewhat aloof, he chooses not to intervene when his wife obsesses about charisma, calorie counting, and turning their daughter into a child prodigy.

Their daughter strives to meet her mother's expectations and bond with her father while secretly worrying she lacks the drive or charisma to do anything significant with her life. When her mother is diagnosed with terminal cancer, she begins to address their generational trauma, forge a new relationship with her father, and discover life on her terms. In twelve chapters - each reflecting a different phase of life - Posthuma expertly dissects a fraught family history, exposing the absurdity that often lies at the heart of life's most poignant and challenging moments.


'In her debut novel, and second work of fiction to appear in English following the lauded What I'd Rather Not Think About, Dutch author Jente Posthuma examines life with an anthropologist's sense of the absurd. She sets her sights on mundane family life, finding it both nightmarishly farcical and full of human warmth.'
-Declan Fry, ABC News

'From award-winning Dutch author Posthuma comes this novella about a young Dutch girl growing up in a complex and unconventional family ... funny and poignant ... A thought-provoking novel about finding one's place in the world.'
-Merie Jacob, Booklist

'There is a beautiful and misleading ennui around Posthuma's story. That may make it sound dull, but it is far from it! This is a darkly humorous story that is both compelling and insightful. So much happens with seemingly little action, but the breadth of the story is both contained and boundless.'
-Rosalind McClintock, Readings