“Affecting narrative about consent, power and loneliness.”—TIME
“Intoxicatingly ominous.”—Kirkus
In a hothouse of collegiate sex and ambition, one young woman mysteriously disappears after a wild campus party, and another becomes obsessed with finding her.
It’s Halloween night on a pastoral East Coast college campus. Scantily costumed students ride the fine line between adolescence and adulthood as they prepare for a night of drinking and debauchery. Expectations are high as Leda flirts with her thrilling new crush, Ian, and he flirts back. But by the end of the night, things will have taken a turn.
A mysterious young woman in a swan costume speaks with Leda outside a party—and then vanishes. When Leda later wakes up in Ian’s room the next morning, she is unsure exactly what happened between them. Meanwhile, as the campus rouses itself to respond to the young woman’s disappearance, rumors swirl, suspicious facts pile up, and Leda’s obsession with her missing classmate grows. Is it just a coincidence that Ian used to date Charlotte, the missing woman? Is Leda herself in danger? As Leda becomes more and more dangerously consumed with the mystery of Charlotte and questions about Ian, her motivations begin to blur. Is Leda looking for Charlotte, or trying to find herself?
In Leda and the Swan, Anna Caritj’s riveting storytelling brings together a suspenseful plot; an intimate, confessional voice; and invaluable insights into sex, power, and contemporary culture.
Genre: Literary Fiction
“Intoxicatingly ominous.”—Kirkus
In a hothouse of collegiate sex and ambition, one young woman mysteriously disappears after a wild campus party, and another becomes obsessed with finding her.
It’s Halloween night on a pastoral East Coast college campus. Scantily costumed students ride the fine line between adolescence and adulthood as they prepare for a night of drinking and debauchery. Expectations are high as Leda flirts with her thrilling new crush, Ian, and he flirts back. But by the end of the night, things will have taken a turn.
A mysterious young woman in a swan costume speaks with Leda outside a party—and then vanishes. When Leda later wakes up in Ian’s room the next morning, she is unsure exactly what happened between them. Meanwhile, as the campus rouses itself to respond to the young woman’s disappearance, rumors swirl, suspicious facts pile up, and Leda’s obsession with her missing classmate grows. Is it just a coincidence that Ian used to date Charlotte, the missing woman? Is Leda herself in danger? As Leda becomes more and more dangerously consumed with the mystery of Charlotte and questions about Ian, her motivations begin to blur. Is Leda looking for Charlotte, or trying to find herself?
In Leda and the Swan, Anna Caritj’s riveting storytelling brings together a suspenseful plot; an intimate, confessional voice; and invaluable insights into sex, power, and contemporary culture.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Praise for this book
"A riveting debut. At once a contemplative novel about a young woman finding her footing in this uncertain world, and a propulsive page-turning. A stunning read and an incisive new voice in fiction." - Dana Czapnik
"Dark, delicious, and dangerous... Leda's story is electrifying. I read with bated breath, wondering the entire time what would become of the missing girl, what would become of Leda. Caritj evokes a college world that is at once familiar and transporting, thrilling and terrifying. As Leda grapples with crucial, age-old questions about desire and consent, Caritj's plot offers a powerful modern twist." - Anton DiSclafani
"Leda and the Swan had me totally enthralled. Anna Caritj has created a haunting and irresistibly intimate voice in Leda, a young woman navigating the bacchanalia of college Greek life against a riptide of both personal and public grief. This novel is a lush thrill." - Kate Reed Petty
"Tense and terrifying and beautifully-observed, Anna Caritj's accomplished debut is a propulsive journey into the dark heart of undergraduate life. Leda and the Swan is both a thriller and a gorgeously crafted exploration of loss, grief, and the painful, dangerous work of finding oneself. An exhilarating novel!" - Kirstin Valdez Quade
"Dark, delicious, and dangerous... Leda's story is electrifying. I read with bated breath, wondering the entire time what would become of the missing girl, what would become of Leda. Caritj evokes a college world that is at once familiar and transporting, thrilling and terrifying. As Leda grapples with crucial, age-old questions about desire and consent, Caritj's plot offers a powerful modern twist." - Anton DiSclafani
"Leda and the Swan had me totally enthralled. Anna Caritj has created a haunting and irresistibly intimate voice in Leda, a young woman navigating the bacchanalia of college Greek life against a riptide of both personal and public grief. This novel is a lush thrill." - Kate Reed Petty
"Tense and terrifying and beautifully-observed, Anna Caritj's accomplished debut is a propulsive journey into the dark heart of undergraduate life. Leda and the Swan is both a thriller and a gorgeously crafted exploration of loss, grief, and the painful, dangerous work of finding oneself. An exhilarating novel!" - Kirstin Valdez Quade
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