Harriet Clarke's New Novel 'The Hill' Explores Family Estrangement

The darkly funny coming-of-age story follows a young girl visiting her mother in prison over the years.

Apr. 7, 2026 at 8:31pm

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An extreme close-up of shattered glass and cracked concrete in high-contrast studio lighting, conceptually representing the fractured family dynamics and the weight of legacy explored in the novel.The shattered remnants of a family's past reflect the lasting impact of incarceration and political ideologies in Harriet Clarke's novel 'The Hill'.Nyack Today

Harriet Clarke's debut novel 'The Hill' is a meditative exploration of family estrangement, as it follows 12-year-old Suzanna and her visits to her mother, who is serving a life sentence in prison for her role in a deadly bank robbery. The book examines the elasticity of time, the poignant silences between Suzanna and her grandmother, and the lasting legacy of three generations of mother-daughter conflict.

Why it matters

The Hill is in conversation with Harriet Clarke's own personal experience, as she is the daughter of Judy Clark, a former member of the Weather Underground who was convicted and sentenced to prison for her role in a 1981 bank robbery. While the book is a work of fiction, it grapples with the real-life impacts of family separation and the complex emotions surrounding forgiveness and legacy.

The details

In the novel, Suzanna's mother was a revolutionary who drove the getaway car during a bank robbery for a leftist splinter cell, resulting in the death of a bank security guard. Suzanna visits her mother in prison nearly every weekend from her childhood into her adolescence, while her maternal grandmother refuses to go to the prison or speak to her own daughter. Much of the book explores the stalemate between the two women and Suzanna's conflicting loyalties.

  • Suzanna's mother has been in prison for as long as Suzanna can remember.
  • Suzanna visits her mother in prison nearly every weekend from her childhood into her adolescence.

The players

Suzanna

The 12-year-old protagonist who visits her mother in prison over the years.

Suzanna's mother

A former revolutionary who is serving a life sentence in prison for her role in a deadly bank robbery.

Suzanna's grandmother

Suzanna's maternal grandmother who refuses to go to the prison or speak to her own daughter.

Harriet Clarke

The author of the novel The Hill, which is her debut work. She is the daughter of Judy Clark, a former member of the Weather Underground who was convicted and sentenced to prison.

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What they’re saying

“My mother and I lived on the timeless peak of a time-bound hill.”

— Suzanna

“Time itself is a 'punishment.'”

— Suzanna

“Do you ever dress them up?”

— Suzanna

“These are service dogs, Suzanna. Service animals.”

— Suzanna's mother, Dog trainer in prison

What’s next

The Hill is Harriet Clarke's debut novel, and it has been praised for its meditative exploration of family estrangement and the lasting legacy of three generations of mother-daughter conflict. As Clarke continues her writing career, readers will be eager to see what other stories she brings to life.

The takeaway

The Hill is a poignant and darkly humorous novel that grapples with the complex emotions surrounding family separation, forgiveness, and the weight of one's personal history. Through Suzanna's journey, the book offers a nuanced perspective on the long-term impacts of incarceration on families and the difficulty of reconciling divergent political ideologies within a household.