To & Fro
-
- $9.99
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
A tale of two girls—one living in a parable, the other in Manhattan
Ani, journeying across a great distance accompanied by a stolen kitten, meets many people along her way, but her encounters only convince her that she is meant to keep searching. Annamae, journeying from childhood to young adulthood alongside her mother, older brother, and the denizens of her Manhattan neighborhood, never outgrows her yearning for a friend she cannot describe. From their different worlds, Ani and Annamae reach across the divide, perhaps to discover—or perhaps to create—each other.
Told in two mirrored narratives that culminate in a new beginning, To & Fro unleashes the wonders and mysteries of childhood in a profound exploration of identity, spirituality, and community.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Cohen (Strangers and Cousins) offers a playful and provocative tête-bêche novel with each half devoted to a different young girl searching for a sense of belonging. The fairy tale–like first entry, "To," is narrated by wide-eyed Ani, who engages in various "leave-takings" from her home and eventually goes for a long bike ride. Along her journey, she encounters a fussy kitten who becomes her companion and travels with a mysterious ferryman. Readers are then invited to flip the book over to "Fro," a comparatively more grounded narrative. Annamae lives in Manhattan with her mother and brother Danny. She's surrounded by loving adults, including her nana, her uncle Hersh (who's not really an uncle), and her aunt Marni, but, like Ani, she seeks an understanding confidant. In an author's note, Cohen says she doesn't favor either narrative as a starting point, and each story reverberates in the other, leaving readers to sense Ani in Annamae's longing for a friend and Annamae as the target of Ani's directionless wandering. Cohen's graceful exercise is worth a spin.
