The Red Grove
Tessa Fontaine
(Author)
21,000+ Reviews
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Description
Long-listed for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize
Named a Must-Read by People and Alta
"Spellbinding." --Alta What kind of world might we have, who might we become, if everyone were truly safe? What price would we pay for that kind of freedom? There are secrets beneath every community--even those founded with the purest of intentions--secrets as strong and reaching as the roots that keep us connected to one another and anchored to home. The Red Grove is a special place, protected. Some say a spell was cast by its founder, Tamsen Nightingale. Some say the mountain lions stalking the nearby hills guard its mysteries and its boundaries. Some say the mighty redwoods keep its people safe. Yet a man has died on the Red Grove's sacred ground. And Luce's mother, Gloria, has vanished. The Red Grove is Luce's whole world. She is utterly devoted to its mission, its rituals and history. Still, she knows that her mother, frustrated free spirit though she might be, wouldn't just leave without a word, wouldn't leave Luce's little brother, Roo, and their aunt, Gem, whose life and care in a suspended state they call everdream depend on Gloria in every way. But strange things begin to happen as Luce tries to figure out where her mother has gone. Clicks echo out from the trees, flies pound against the windows, and a strange man keeps calling on the phone. The deeper Luce digs, the more she must ask if her beloved home, the women she admires, and the stories they tell might be built on a devastating lie. The debut novel by the acclaimed author of The Electric Woman, Tessa Fontaine's The Red Grove is a story about mothers, daughters, and sisters, about the dangers of being a woman in this world, and about the flawed, fierce choices we make to protect what we love.
Product Details
Price
$28.00
$26.04
Publisher
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publish Date
May 14, 2024
Pages
336
Dimensions
6.3 X 9.26 X 1.16 inches | 1.16 pounds
Language
English
Type
Hardcover
EAN/UPC
9780374605810
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About the Author
Tessa Fontaine is the author of The Electric Woman: A Memoir in Death-Defying Acts, which was named a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice and a best book of the year by Southern Living, Refinery29, and the New York Post. Her writing can be found in Outside, Glamour, Agni, and The Believer. She has been a sideshow performer, a shoe saleswoman, and a professor, and she taught for years in jails and prisons. She cofounded and runs the Accountability Workshops with the writer Annie Hartnett. Raised among the redwoods of Northern California, she now lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with her husband, daughter, goofy dog, and sassy cat.
Reviews
"[A] devastating literary thriller."
--People
--Alta "By turns chilling and stirringly beautiful, [The Red Grove] inventively imagines the freedom of women living without fear--and at what cost."
--Bridget Thoreson, Booklist "Fontaine shines . . . [The Red Grove] tugs at the heartstrings."
--Publishers Weekly "Rich . . . Propulsive . . . A thoughtful coming-of-age story enfolded inside a cleverly crafted double mystery."
--Kirkus Reviews "A deeply atmospheric, haunting, and propulsive missing-person tale. In achingly beautiful language, Tessa Fontaine illuminates the space between reality and myth, story and history, utopia and dystopia. I loved this novel."
--Angie Kim, author of Happiness Falls "The Red Grove is a shimmering, hidden world, and Tessa Fontaine is ferocious in every line. Intoxicating and impossible to put down."
--Rufi Thorpe, author of Margo's Got Money Troubles "A spellbinding tale of myth and mystery, of loyalties tested, of violence, determination, doubt, and love. Tessa Fontaine has crafted a story that is at once strange, troubling, and hopeful, with characters who will win readers' hearts."
--Therese Anne Fowler, author of It All Comes Down to This "At once a haunting dream, a taut mystery, a level stare at gender violence, and an intricate generational tale of love and fear, The Red Grove is unlike any other novel I've ever read."
--Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World "Faced with the many chilling ways humans tear up utopias, Tessa Fontaine's The Red Grove does not flinch as it treads a dark and thrilling path through nature, community, magic, and love."
--Samantha Hunt, author of The Unwritten Book "A scorching and suspenseful exploration of the complex architectures of families, the mysteries entrenched in landscapes, and the illusory nature of safety. Tessa Fontaine's thrilling novel shines a bright light on the foundational myths on which lives are built."
--Laura van den Berg, author of I Hold a Wolf by the Ears "This gorgeous, frightening novel maps the hidden roots that link mother to daughter, and sibling to sibling, and utopia to fear. A deft and enrapturing novel full of underground secrets, ready to spring."
--Clare Beams, author of The Illness Lesson "I was hooked from the first page, wanting to be in the beautiful forest among the animals and the people who come to vivid life in these pages. Tessa Fontaine is brilliant."
--Alice Elliott Dark, author of Fellowship Point
