Grandmother Divided by Monkey Equals Outer Space

New York City, 1982. The Martians live in a one-bedroom apartment on the Upper West Side, where eleven year-old Carrie obsesses over details, and her brother attempts to make it to a showing of The Shining that isn’t sold out. Around the corner, the psychic Miss Rosa’s neon rose glows above the street. Befriending the Martians one by one, she shares a part of her story with each of them – a story that resonates disturbingly with their own lives.

Around the corner – ‘above the smaller dry cleaners’ – the psychic Miss Rosa’s neon rose glows above the street. Keener on recounting the past than predicting the future, Miss Rosa (a.k.a. Phoebe Curtis) befriends the Martians one by one, and shares a part of her story with each of them – a story that resonates disturbingly with their own lives. But the Martians have other things to worry about: can Carrie afford a Red Devil costume for the Halloween parade? Who really has the longest fry? And how will Viv buy pot and pay the rent?

“Nora Chassler’s extraordinary Grandmother Divided by Monkey Equals Outer Space breaks all moulds ... it is a triumphant vindication of the edgy, eccentric demotic as a compelling narrative voice.” — William Boyd, The Guardian

“Somewhere between Nabokov and Bret Easton Ellis ... Chassler’s characters elicit real emotion. Their stories grip you to the last and leave you wanting more.” — Chris Dolan, The Herald