Vicky Foster is one very capable writer and Bathwater is a very
personal story. Using her own real-life experience of what happens when
violence spills over into family life, Bathwater is a gripping,
ever-twisting, often moving, somewhat shocking and often agonising piece
of work. Rather than a cathartic over-share, however, Foster goes way
beyond writing what she knows in order to craft something that is
simultaneously hard-hitting and poetic. She has written a work of
literary beauty, despite the harsh and uncomfortable subject matter,
combining prose, poetry and dialogue.
This is as bold a line in the sand as a writer can make to announce
their arrival. Given her enormous talent and ability to weave a piece of
work so well, there'll be plenty more to come from Foster's
experience-fuelled imagination as she strides, confidently, into the
literary and poetic world.