* An American Booksellers Association "Indies Introduce" Pick!
Haunting, gorgeously descriptive, and spellbinding, At the Edge of the Woods is a magnificent and assured debut novel that delivers all the resonance and significance of an instant classic.
Laura lives alone in a cabin deep within the Italian Alps, making her living translating medical documents and tutoring the children of affluent locals. She spends her days climbing the mountains outside her door and exploring the woods, and when she must venture into the small, conservative town for supplies, she’s met with curious stares and wariness. Laura begins seeing a bartender, who alerts her to the villagers’ uncertainties. Then late one night there is a knock on the door, and on the other side stands someone from her past who has finally found her. In beguiling, lyrical prose, the mystery surrounding why Laura has absconded to this remote corner of the Alps comes into focus, while the villagers grow leery of the woman in the cabin and of her increasingly odd behavior. A few decide to take matters into their own hands, to free themselves from the malevolent forces of the strega who lives amongst them.
With its dexterity and appreciation for the natural world, its slow-burn tension and thematic considerations of illness, femininity and alienation, At the Edge of the Woods calls to mind the work of Richard Powers, Claire-Louise Bennett and Shirley Jackson, while revealing Kathryn Bromwich as a spectacular and singular talent.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Haunting, gorgeously descriptive, and spellbinding, At the Edge of the Woods is a magnificent and assured debut novel that delivers all the resonance and significance of an instant classic.
Laura lives alone in a cabin deep within the Italian Alps, making her living translating medical documents and tutoring the children of affluent locals. She spends her days climbing the mountains outside her door and exploring the woods, and when she must venture into the small, conservative town for supplies, she’s met with curious stares and wariness. Laura begins seeing a bartender, who alerts her to the villagers’ uncertainties. Then late one night there is a knock on the door, and on the other side stands someone from her past who has finally found her. In beguiling, lyrical prose, the mystery surrounding why Laura has absconded to this remote corner of the Alps comes into focus, while the villagers grow leery of the woman in the cabin and of her increasingly odd behavior. A few decide to take matters into their own hands, to free themselves from the malevolent forces of the strega who lives amongst them.
With its dexterity and appreciation for the natural world, its slow-burn tension and thematic considerations of illness, femininity and alienation, At the Edge of the Woods calls to mind the work of Richard Powers, Claire-Louise Bennett and Shirley Jackson, while revealing Kathryn Bromwich as a spectacular and singular talent.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Praise for this book
"At the Edge of the Woods is a rare novel: beautifully attuned to both the mysteries of the natural world and of human consciousness, at once cool and intense, suspenseful and surprising. Just when you think you know where Laura's story is headed the forest path twists, uncovering a world resplendent with ghosts, secrets, and dangerously deep wells of feeling. Kathryn Bromwich is a thrilling new talent." - Laura van den Berg
"A rich and bewitching novel. Kathryn Bromwich has spun up a delicate world that interrogates the dark side of love, the wild power of nature, and the strength it takes to break free." - Sarah Rose Etter
"Heady and headlong, Bromwich's deliciously witchy debut unspools with the force and confidence of a spell, conjuring an indelible portrayal of one woman's quest for selfhood through solitude." - Hermione Hoby
"A profound and disquieting portrait of isolation and existence at the borderlands: between cultures, past and present, civilization and wilderness. Through a delicate twining of deliberate, precise storytelling and rich, lyrical detail, Kathryn Bromwich has crafted a captivating and beguiling fable in reverse -- a story that feels like it's existed forever, just waiting for her to write it down." - Simon Jacobs
"Mysterious, assured, and deeply, quietly passionate, At the Edge of the Woods is a magnetic debut in love with nature and language in equal measure, eschewing traditional plot and narrative devices in favor of the fabulous on every level... Bromwich infects the senses with dread and wicked insight from the first page to the last--this is a stunning experience not to be missed." - Maryse Meijer
"A delicious, dark unravelling. Kathryn Bromwich's prose brings us an unnerving and tenacious voice, a remarkable protagonist. In this brilliant novel, the wild is never far away but we have more to fear from so-called civilisation. An unnerving and exhilarating book that gave me goosebumps. It made me want to take off into the forest!" - Helen Mort
"Elegant, mysterious, unsettling--Bromwich's storytelling is as assured as it is unpredictable. A stunning achievement." - Rhik Samadder
"I savored this wonderfully intense and enigmatic novel about a woman's retreat into the wilderness. At the Edge of the Woods touches on issues of alienation, illness, womanhood, nature and community, in sensuous prose that delights and disturbs. An offbeat, beguiling debut." - Luiza Sauma
"A raw, intimate, richly textured and lyrical account of a self-imposed isolation in the Italian Alps. Part-almost fairy tale, part-humane examination of the body, memory, loneliness, relationships and nature--this gorgeous book offers a hypnotically meditative insight into one woman's compelling psyche." - Lara Williams
"A rich and bewitching novel. Kathryn Bromwich has spun up a delicate world that interrogates the dark side of love, the wild power of nature, and the strength it takes to break free." - Sarah Rose Etter
"Heady and headlong, Bromwich's deliciously witchy debut unspools with the force and confidence of a spell, conjuring an indelible portrayal of one woman's quest for selfhood through solitude." - Hermione Hoby
"A profound and disquieting portrait of isolation and existence at the borderlands: between cultures, past and present, civilization and wilderness. Through a delicate twining of deliberate, precise storytelling and rich, lyrical detail, Kathryn Bromwich has crafted a captivating and beguiling fable in reverse -- a story that feels like it's existed forever, just waiting for her to write it down." - Simon Jacobs
"Mysterious, assured, and deeply, quietly passionate, At the Edge of the Woods is a magnetic debut in love with nature and language in equal measure, eschewing traditional plot and narrative devices in favor of the fabulous on every level... Bromwich infects the senses with dread and wicked insight from the first page to the last--this is a stunning experience not to be missed." - Maryse Meijer
"A delicious, dark unravelling. Kathryn Bromwich's prose brings us an unnerving and tenacious voice, a remarkable protagonist. In this brilliant novel, the wild is never far away but we have more to fear from so-called civilisation. An unnerving and exhilarating book that gave me goosebumps. It made me want to take off into the forest!" - Helen Mort
"Elegant, mysterious, unsettling--Bromwich's storytelling is as assured as it is unpredictable. A stunning achievement." - Rhik Samadder
"I savored this wonderfully intense and enigmatic novel about a woman's retreat into the wilderness. At the Edge of the Woods touches on issues of alienation, illness, womanhood, nature and community, in sensuous prose that delights and disturbs. An offbeat, beguiling debut." - Luiza Sauma
"A raw, intimate, richly textured and lyrical account of a self-imposed isolation in the Italian Alps. Part-almost fairy tale, part-humane examination of the body, memory, loneliness, relationships and nature--this gorgeous book offers a hypnotically meditative insight into one woman's compelling psyche." - Lara Williams
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