The Changeling
A Novel
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3.9 • 278 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
“Mesmerizing . . . a dark fairy tale of New York, full of magic and loss, myth and mystery, love and madness.”—Marlon James, author of the Dark Star trilogy
NOW AN APPLE TV+ SERIES STARRING LAKEITH STANFIELD • ONE OF TIME’S 100 BEST FANTASY BOOKS OF ALL TIME
Winner of an American Book Award, a Locus Award for Best Horror Novel, a British Fantasy Award for Best Horror Novel, a World Fantasy Award for Best Novel • Nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award, an International Dublin Literary Award, a Mythopoeic Award for Literature
When Apollo Kagwa’s father disappeared, he left his son a box of books and strange recurring dreams. Now Apollo is a father himself—and as he and his wife, Emma, settle into their new lives as parents, exhaustion and anxiety start to take their toll. Apollo’s old dreams return and Emma begins acting odd. At first Emma seems to be exhibiting signs of postpartum depression. But before Apollo can do anything to help, Emma commits a horrific act and vanishes. Thus begins Apollo’s quest to find a wife and child who are nothing like he’d imagined. His odyssey takes him to a forgotten island, a graveyard full of secrets, a forest where immigrant legends still live, and finally back to a place he thought he had lost forever.
NAMED ONE OF PASTE’S BEST HORROR BOOKS OF THE DECADE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times • USA Today • The New York Public Library • NPR • BuzzFeed • Kirkus Reviews • Book Riot
“The thriller you won’t be able to put down.”—O: The Oprah Magazine
“Intense, riveting . . . The story is a long, slow burn with a lingering sizzle.”—Los Angeles Review of Books
“A modern-day tale of terror rooted in ancient myth and folklore, brimming with magical revelation and emotional truth.”—San Francisco Chronicle
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
All Apollo Kagwa wanted was a happy family. Now, he’ll pass through the boundaries of reality to get them back. After giving birth to their baby son, Apollo’s wife, Emma, snapped, apparently killing her newborn before disappearing without a trace. Postpartum depression would seem to be the reason—or is something more sinister to blame? Author Victor LaValle weaves layer upon layer into this beautiful and disturbing fairy tale, as the slim leads Apollo follows to find Emma send him into enchanted islands and magical forests. The Changeling blends very real issues like racism and the struggles of parenthood with Hans Christian Andersen-like witches, goblins, and trolls, both the under-the-bridge and online kinds. LaValle’s sparkling prose makes Apollo feel gorgeously realistic, even as he inhabits a decidedly fantastical version of modern New York City. Grotesque, funny, and filled with hope, this touching story explores family, loss, and how surreal the world can seem when our lives spiral out of control.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
LaValle (The Ballad of Black Tom) displays his unique brand of trippy fabulism in his gripping latest, a modern-day fairy tale about a devoted father's confrontation with evil. "The wildness had only begun," says the narrator early on in the novel, a statement borne out by the eerie, fantastic events to come. The son of a Ugandan woman who raised him on her own, Apollo Kagwa scrapes together a living rummaging through estate sales for rare books. The novel takes its time warming up, somewhat leisurely describing Apollo courting, marrying, and having a baby with Emma Valentine, then becoming a so-called "New Dad": a conscientious, diaper-changing, "emotionally available" modern man. Then the wildness begins with a staggering scene in which Apollo's family is torn apart. In his quest to put himself and his family back together, Apollo, steered by a computer-savvy client interested in one of his rare books, journeys into New York City's hidden enchanted places. There he encounters old magic, monsters, and wicked fathers. LaValle makes occasionally strained efforts to weave contemporary concerns helicopter parenting, online oversharing, and Internet trolls into this elemental fabric. Nonetheless, the novel works best when immersed in the violent, unpredictable realm of dark fairy tales, which, as one character tells Apollo, "are not for children."
Customer Reviews
Modern Horror Story with Ancient Roots
“The Changeling” is a 2017 horror novel by Victor LaValle and now is the basis for a series of the same name on AppleTV+. The novel follows the life of Apollo who is a book dealer living in New York City. Apollo meets and eventually marries a librarian named Emma. Soon they become parents to their first child, Brian.
This is where things begin to go seriously and horribly wrong. As the title would suggest, the focus of this darkness revolves around the baby Brian.
The supernatural aspects of this story are a combination of those of several cultures, strangely different yet similar. Interestingly, these are set in the very modern world, and in an intensely urban environment. This all seems to add up to more than the sum of its parts. As the plot builds, it carries the reader on to the stunning conclusion.
What did I just read?
I’m not sure what I just read, but I suppose it could be considered a fantasy drama thriller. The main discussion of the novel is this idea that fairy tales are not stories for children, but rather cautionary tales for adults. The book started as a normal story and has taken a fantastical turn into the unbelievable featuring mysterious disappearances, witches, baby hunters, and Norwegian trolls. The characters are literally caught between two worlds and are constantly being forced to take on other worldly, superhuman powers to protect their loved ones. There was a whole lot of action and even more questions, some of which were never answered. I wanted to read this book before I stared watching the show, and now I’m very curious to see how they are going to make sense of this odyssey-like tale, and hopefully make the connections the book forgot.
Changeling
I read the book after watching the first couple episodes of the TV show. The book is good not great. While it is an easy read it just wasn’t quite what I was expecting. A good book but I can’t say it’s something I would read twice.