The Sisters of the Winter Wood
The spellbinding fairy tale fantasy of the year
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- 3,49 €
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- 3,49 €
Publisher Description
'LUSCIOUS AND HYPNOTIC . . . A gripping, powerful story of family, sisterhood. I gulped it down! - Madeline Miller, author of Song of Achilles and Circe
'An incredible achievement - a rich literary fairy tale' Robert Dinsdale, author of The Toymakers
Every family has a secret . . . and every secret tells a story.
In a remote village surrounded by forests on the border of Moldova and Ukraine, sisters Liba and Laya have been raised on the honeyed scent of their Mami's babka and the low rumble of their Tati's prayers. But when a troupe of mysterious men arrives, Laya falls under their spell - despite their mother's warning to be wary of strangers. And this is not the only danger lurking in the woods.
As dark forces close in on their small village, Liba and Laya discover a family secret passed down through generations. Faced with a magical heritage they never knew existed, the sisters realise the old fairy tales are true . . . and could save them all.
Captivating and boldly imaginative, Rena Rossner's debut invites you to enter a magical world of secrets, family ties and fairy tales weaving through history. Perfect for fans of The Bear and the Nightingale, Uprooted and The Night Circus.
'A graceful, poetic, deeply moving novel . . . a simply gorgeous book in every sense' Louisa Morgan
'The kind of book that Neil Gaiman and Naomi Novik might have cooked up together' Robert Dinsdale
'A stunning tapestry of a story unlike anything I've ever read. Laya and Liba are going to stick with me for a long, long time' Sara Holland, author of Everless
'An elegant tapestry of the love between sisters, the value of faith and family, and knowing one's true friends in times of peril' J. Kathleen Cheney
'Full of heart, history and enchantment' Publishers Weekly (starred review)
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Rossner's intricately crafted, gorgeously rendered debut alternates perspectives between teenage sisters Liba and Laya Leib, who narrate in prose and verse, respectively. They are left to fend for themselves in the mysterious woods that border the town of Dubossary while their parents are away on urgent business. Before their parents leave, the sisters learn the family secret: their father can transform into a bear, a gift Liba will inherit, and their mother into a swan, as Laya will. The pair disagree on how to enjoy their newfound independence: where Laya longs for freedom, Liba craves stability, worrying constantly for her younger sister's safety. People are going missing from the town, there are rumors of a bear in the woods, and anti-Semitic sentiment is on the rise. All of these strange occurrences coincide with the arrival of the Hovlins, a seductive band of fruit-peddling brothers whose otherworldly appeal Laya cannot resist. To save her sister and her people, Liba must learn to accept her bear-like nature. Drawing on true events, folklore, and Christina Rosetti's classic The Goblin Market, Rossner's fairy tale is creepy and moving by turn, full of heart, history, and enchantment.