Crown

"A book built of deep suspense, a survival story of the first order . . . Evanthia Bromiley writes at the intersection of poverty and motherhood better than almost anyone I know. Crown is an astonishing, revelatory first novel." --Emily Fridlund A suspenseful, lyrical debut novel tracking three days leading up to the eviction of a pregnant single mother and her nine-year-old twins from a trailer park in the American Southwest. Jude Woods is on the brink of eviction. Pregnant, jobless, and mother to Evan and Virginia, she has three days to box up her family's life and find a safe place to live. In the Woods' quiet trailer park, neighbors keep to themselves, but it's no secret Jude and her twins are in jeopardy--the eviction notice slapped on their front door like a white shout. When Jude's contractions flare just as their power is shut off, she rushes to the hospital instructing Evan and Virginia to hide in their car in the surrounding fields. If the children are discovered outside alone, they will be taken from her. Jude labors through the night in a crowded emergency room while the twins, desperate in the heat of the cramped car and spurred by their wild imaginations, strike out along the dangerous riverbank in search of a new home for their growing family. As night hurtles toward the morning lockout, both mother and children reckon with what it means to live and dream in a modern America insistent on slamming doors. Poetic and distinct, the voices of the three Woods open to a chorus of waitresses and oil men, veterans and graffiti artists as Crown trawls the laundromats, public bus systems, and waiting rooms of a forgotten blue-collar city. In this mesmerizing, singular debut, the tenacious spirit of a young family and their community comes to profound and moving life.

About the Author :
Evanthia Bromiley is a graduate of the Warren Wilson M.F.A. Program for Writers and the recipient of scholarships from the Aspen Institute, a Lighthouse Fellowship, a Lisel Mueller scholarship and Elizabeth George and Carol Houck-Smith awards. Her short fiction and creative non-fiction can be found in AGNI, Prairie Schooner, Five Points, and elsewhere. When not writing, she works in impacted schools with young writers and their teachers as they sharpen their craft and voices, telling stories of growing up in the American Southwest. She lives in Durango, Colorado.

Review :
Praise for Crown Longlisted for the Center for Fiction 2025 First Novel Prize "Bromiley debuts with a remarkable portrait of a jobless single mother as she navigates an impending eviction, pregnancy, and the watchful gaze of child protection services. In lyrical and pared-down prose, Bromiley toggles between the complex points of view of each family member . . . It's a knockout." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Virginia and Evan's quest to get home through unknown territory builds to a taut climax that will leave readers breathless. Bromiley is also a master of the rhythms and realities of working-class life, in which keeping yourself together is a daily negotiation with bureaucracy and a chafing reminder that others have it worse. Though this is a story of contemporary life, it lives within the rich tradition of the literature and song of American struggle. This could be a story of the Dust Bowl or a city shelter; Jude could be the mother in Dorothea Lange's indelible photo. Full of ordinary royalty, shining with the triumph of staying human and extending grace even in deprivation." --Kirkus Reviews "A beautiful story rife with realism and hope."--Lily Hunter, Booklist "Bromiley's novel shimmers . . . full of artistry, a poet's rendering of an ordinary desperation." --Sara Beth West, Shelf Awareness "Bromiley's debut novel takes place over the course of three suspenseful days in the life of Jude Woods, a 25-year-old pregnant and unemployed mother, and her kids, Evan and Virginia . . . Bromiley carries the reader through this precariousness with her gentle attention to language and an intimate familiarity with the psyches of children."--Alta "Bromiley's bold ensemble story vibrates with light and humanity." --Stefanie Milligan, The Christian Science Monitor "This is a book of poetry, every sentence offering up gifts. It is also a book built of deep suspense, a survival story of the first order. An evicted mother must leave her two children alone in the world while she goes to the hospital to give birth, and through the crucible of this crisis, each voice in this novel comes alive with ferocious originality and tenderness. Evanthia Bromiley writes at the intersection of poverty and motherhood better than almost anyone I know. Crown is an astonishing, revelatory first novel." --Emily Fridlund, author of History of Wolves "Jude is, in the aftermath of the pandemic, struggling to keep her children sheltered and fed--and to navigate the grinding bureaucracy of poverty. Evanthia Bromiley is brilliant on the brutal poetry of daily life, the quicksilver imaginations of children, and the cavernous depths of a mother's love. Crown is an astonishing debut."--Laura van den Berg, author of State of Paradise "Aroar with heart, steeled by poetic acuity, Crown reads like an epic of commonplace strife, granting both dignity and a fierce new voice to the mothers and children relegated to the margins of modern America. With this debut, Evanthia Bromiley has already cemented herself as the literary heir to Lucia Berlin." --Jakob Guanzon, author of Abundance "Beautifully written and quietly forceful, Evanthia Bromiley's debut novel, Crown, shines with compassion for all of its characters in their perilous conditions. They fashion from the landscape what is missing. They dream homes and wear small crowns 'woven of juniper and wild oak and the spare things of the desert.' Bromiley's book is concise and musical, and she has the heart of a poet." --Christine Schutt, author of Pure Hollywood "Any writer who so creatively, poetically, and energetically ventriloquizes the gorgeous voices of children, and their mother, has my attention, respect, and gratitude. Hurray for Evanthia Bromiley!" --Eliza Minot, author of In The Orchard "A propulsive, deeply humane debut. Crown immerses us in a world both vivid and dreamlike, alongside characters whose darkest days - carefully rendered - become luminous." --Anna Noyes, author of The Blue Maiden "Lyrical, unflinching, and emotionally compelling. Evanthia Bromiley has a particular strength in the way she portrays this family in jeopardy, never skimping on their emotional lives, but instead creating complex, layered scenes and moments of deep characterization. She has found opportunities to render beauty within otherwise bleak circumstances." --Dominic Smith, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Painting of Sara de Vos "Here is a writer who clearly has studied many great novels and then emerged with a voice wholly her own; a voice that shimmers with the kind of verve and light that arrives when a writer finds her true subject, then fearlessly accepts the challenge of writing about it." --Dean Bakopoulos, author of Summerlong "A beautifully written, heart-wrenching story that closely mirrors what's happening today on our streets, under our bridges, around our country."--Bookclique