The Wood at Midwinter
-
- $15.99
Publisher Description
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
From the bestselling and prize-winning author of Piranesi and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, an enchanting, beautifully illustrated short story set in the world of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.
'A church is a sort of wood. A wood is a sort of church. They're the same thing really.'
Nineteen-year-old Merowdis Scot is an unusual girl. She can talk to animals and trees-and she is only ever happy when she is walking in the woods.
One snowy afternoon, out with her dogs and Apple the pig, Merowdis encounters a blackbird and a fox. As darkness falls, a strange figure enters in their midst-and the path of her life is changed forever.
Featuring gorgeous illustrations truly worthy of the magic of this story and an afterword by Susanna Clarke explaining how she came to write it, this is a mesmerizing, must-have addition to any fantasy reader's bookshelf.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hugo Award winner Clarke (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell) enchants with this bite-size Christmassy fairy tale. Readers meet sisters Isolde and Merowdis Scot on a snowy sleigh ride with Merowdis's two dogs and one pet pig (to say nothing of the cats, birds, ferret, and other wild creatures waiting for her at home). Merowdis, whom Isolde believes to be a saint due to her inability to comprehend the difference between animals and people, is misunderstood by the rest of the family and discouraged from visiting the nearby woods, but Isolde is happy to help her and her pets slip away on a nature walk. The trees show Merowdis a vision of herself as a mother to a wriggling bear cub, a destiny she happily embraces, despite knowing it will tear her from the human world. Sawdon's whimsical illustrations add charm, and a fascinating endnote from Clarke reveals her thought process while writing: "Snow always seems to me to signal a quietening of the spirit, a different sort of consciousness. And then obviously I added a pig, because there ought to be more pigs in books." The juxtaposition of thoughtful and sometimes unsettling atmospherics with quirky enjoyment delights. This is an ideal stocking stuffer.
