Smothermoss
Alisa Alering
(Author)
Description
In 1980s Appalachia, sisters Sheila and Angie couldn't be more different. While their mother works long shifts at the nearby asylum, Sheila does her best to care for their home and keeps to herself, even when enduring relentless bullying from classmates. Her rambunctious, fearless younger sister, Angie, is more focused on fighting imaginary zombies, and creating tarot-like cards that seem to have a mind of their own.When the brutal murder of two female hikers on the nearby Appalachian Trail stuns their small community, the sisters find themselves tangled in a dangerous game of cat and mouse. Angie discovers a ripped shirt, soaked in blood; money Sheila's been stashing away disappears; and a strange man shows up at a local store, trying to barter with a woman's watch. As the threat of violence looms larger, the mysterious, ancient mountain they live on--and their willingness to trust each other--might be the only things that can save them from the darkness consuming their home.
In turns both terrifying and otherworldly, author Alisa Alering opens the door to the hidden world of Smothermoss--a mountain that sighs, monsters made of ink, rabbits both dead and alive, and ropes that just won't come undone. Unsettling, propulsive, and wonderfully atmospheric, Alering's stunning debut novel renegotiates what is seen and unseen, what is real and what is haunted.
Product Details
Price
$17.95
$16.69
Publisher
Tin House Books
Publish Date
July 16, 2024
Pages
264
Dimensions
0.0 X 0.0 X 0.0 inches | 0.0 pounds
Language
English
Type
Paperback
EAN/UPC
9781959030584
Earn by promoting books
Earn money by sharing your favorite books through our Affiliate program.
Become an affiliateAbout the Author
Alisa Alering grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania and now lives in Arizona. After attending Clarion West, their short fiction has been published in Fireside, Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, Podcastle, and Cast of Wonders, among others, and been recognized by the Calvino Prize. A former librarian and science/technology reporter, they teach fiction workshops at the Highlights Foundation.
Reviews
Smothermoss is rich, strange, and beautiful, simultaneously eerie and so very honest. An exciting first novel.--Kij Johnson, author of The Privilege of the Happy Ending: Small, Medium, and Large Stories
At the heart of this story are two sisters, the mountain on which they live, and the persistent question as to which is more perilous, the natural world or the unnatural. Beautifully written, tense and absorbing, Smothermoss is an original story from a truly gifted storyteller.--Karen Joy Fowler, author of Booth
At the heart of this story are two sisters, the mountain on which they live, and the persistent question as to which is more perilous, the natural world or the unnatural. Beautifully written, tense and absorbing, Smothermoss is an original story from a truly gifted storyteller.--Karen Joy Fowler, author of Booth