The Changeling

Local Description

Review: If the literary gods mixed together Haruki Murakami and Ralph Ellison . . . the result would be Victor LaValle -- ANTHONY DOERR, author of All the Light We Cannot See
A mesmerising, monumental work -- MARLON JAMES, author of A Brief History of Seven Killings
[A] genre-defying, achingly literate phantasmagoria of a novel -- PAUL BEATTY, author of The Sellout
This punchy cocktail of modern parenting and ancient magic taps into contemporary unease and age-old fears . . . LaValle hooks the reader deep into his increasingly eldritch thriller * * Guardian * *
If monsters are your subject, writing like an angel helps -- Jennifer Senior * * New York Times * *
Absolutely compelling, completely thrilling, The Changeling overflows with menace, wonder and beauty -- KELLY LINK
I say this without exaggeration: it's a masterpiece -- MAT JOHNSON
LaValle's haunting tale weaves a mesmerising web -- Janet Maslin * * New York Times * *
LaValle's bewitching masterpiece * * USA Today * *
A dark, shape-shifting, unpredictable beast, best enjoyed as a series of surprises . . . The Changeling is dazzling, exciting and rather beautiful * * Big Issue * *

Prizes: Winner of American Book Awards 2018 (United States) and British Fantasy Awards 2018 (UK) and Locus Awards: Horror Novel 2018 (United States) and World Fantasy Awards 2018 (United States). Short-listed for PEN/Jean Stein Book Award 2018 (United States) and Shirley Jackson Awards 2017 (United States).

Author Biography: Victor LaValle is the author of six previous works of fiction. He has been the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, an American Book Award, the Shirley Jackson Award and the Key to Southeast Queens. He lives in New York with his wife and children and teaches at Columbia University.

Description

When Apollo Kagwa was just a child, his father disappeared, leaving him with recurring nightmares and a box labelled 'Improbabilia'. Now a successful book dealer, Kagwa has a family of his own after meeting and falling in love with Emma, a librarian. The two marry and have a baby: so far so happy-ever-after.However, as the pair settle into their new lives as parents, exhaustion and anxiety start to take their toll. Emma's behaviour becomes increasingly erratic, until one day she commits an unthinkable act, setting Apollo on a wild and fantastical quest through a suddenly otherworldly New York, in search of a wife and child he no longer recognises. An epic novel for our anxiety-ridden times, The Changeling is a tale of parenthood, love - in its most raw and brutal form - and, ultimately, humanity.