In the Garden of Monsters
A Novel
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2.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
A Goodreads Most Anticipated Historical Fiction Book of Fall 2024
“A sinister romance and hypnotic Gothic fairytale—surreal and luscious with a fascinating twist on the story of Hades and Persephone.” —Jennifer Saint, bestselling author of Ariadne
A woman with no past. A man who seems to know her. And a monstrous garden that could be the border between their worlds…
Italy, 1948
Julia Lombardi is a mystery even to herself. The beautiful model can’t remember where she’s from, where she’s been or how she came to live in Rome. When she receives an offer to accompany celebrated eccentric artist Salvador Dalí to the Sacro Bosco—Italy’s Garden of Monsters—as his muse, she’s strangely compelled to accept. It could be a chance to unlock the truth about her past…
Shrouded in shadow, the garden full of giant statues that sometimes seem alive is far from welcoming. Still, from the moment of their arrival at the palazzo, Julia is inexplicably drawn to their darkly enigmatic host, Ignazio. He’s alluring yet terrifying—and he seems to know her.
Posing for Dalí as the goddess Persephone, Julia finds the work to be perplexing, particularly as Dalí descends deeper into his fanaticism. To him, she is Persephone, and he insists she must eat pomegranate seeds to rejoin her king.
Between Dalí’s fevered persistence, Ignazio’s uncanny familiarity and the agonizing whispered warnings that echo through the garden, Julia is soon on the verge of unraveling. And she begins to wonder if she’s truly the mythical queen of the Underworld…
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With this inventive spin on the Hades and Persephone myth, King (Feast of Sorrow) takes readers to Italy's Sacro Bosco, the eponymous garden, in 1948. Amnesiac Julia Lombardi makes a living as an artist model while studying to be a painter. When an opportunity to sit for Salvador Dalí arises, Julia jumps at it, eager to witness a master at work. The gig takes her to Palazzo Orsini in Bomarzo, where the mysterious Ignazio hosts her and the dismissive, misogynistic Dalí. Julia is simultaneously drawn to and repelled by Ignazio, and he is equally obsessed with her. As painting sessions begin in the Sacro Bosco, Julia experiences strange things: the garden's many monster statues appear to move, there's a green glow in the woods at night, and visions of ghosts haunt her. All the while, Dalí refers to her as Proserpina, the subject she's portraying in his painting, and tempts her with pomegranate seeds. While the core of the myth remains the same, King makes the familiar tale feel fresh with her unusual and enthralling setting, which eerily blurs the real and the surreal. This is an exciting reinterpretation.
