Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
Audiobook9 hours
The Den: A novel
Written by Abi Maxwell
Narrated by Abigail Revasch, Mhairi Morrison and Brittany Pressley
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
()
About this audiobook
“A lush and luminous gem of a novel: The Den is a book with depth and mystery and soul.” —Chris Bohjalian, author of The Red Lotus
Sisters Henrietta and Jane are fifteen and twelve, growing up in a farmhouse on the outskirts of a small New England town. When Henrietta becomes obsessed with a local boy, Jane takes to trailing the young couple, spying on their trysts. Until one night, Henrietta vanishes into the woods.
A century and a half earlier, sisters Elspeth and Claire are separated by an ocean: Elspeth’s pregnancy at seventeen meant she was quickly married and sent to America to avoid certain shame. But when she begins ingratiating herself with a wealthy mill owner, a series of wrenching and violent events unfold, culminating in her disappearance.
Each in their own times, Jane and Claire must search for their missing sisters beneath the watchful eyes of their shared small town. With echoes of The Scarlet Letter, The Den is a transporting, layered tale of two women, living generations apart yet connected by place and longing, and condemned for the very same desires.
Sisters Henrietta and Jane are fifteen and twelve, growing up in a farmhouse on the outskirts of a small New England town. When Henrietta becomes obsessed with a local boy, Jane takes to trailing the young couple, spying on their trysts. Until one night, Henrietta vanishes into the woods.
A century and a half earlier, sisters Elspeth and Claire are separated by an ocean: Elspeth’s pregnancy at seventeen meant she was quickly married and sent to America to avoid certain shame. But when she begins ingratiating herself with a wealthy mill owner, a series of wrenching and violent events unfold, culminating in her disappearance.
Each in their own times, Jane and Claire must search for their missing sisters beneath the watchful eyes of their shared small town. With echoes of The Scarlet Letter, The Den is a transporting, layered tale of two women, living generations apart yet connected by place and longing, and condemned for the very same desires.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateMay 14, 2019
ISBN9781984839992
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Reviews for The Den
Rating: 3.272727272727273 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
11 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5"History was just a story, but the story still mattered." - Jane
I loved this so much from the get-go that in my head it was an immediate 5-star book, which added to the tension since I kept worrying that it would fall from the pedestal to which I prematurely assigned it. In fact, it did just a little bit. I didn't entirely like the ending, and not because it was bad, but I wanted a little more interaction between protagonists.
Anyhoo, I was intrigued by the characters whom I didn't like, I was enthralled by those whom I did. Maxwell's writing is downright luminous in places. The storytelling device works well here so that it doesn't feel gimmicky, though some may argue that point. There are a few reviews on Goodreads in which some readers debate its worthiness as "literature" because it's not "original" or its "feminist" credentials are wanting in some way, but I'm not getting into all that. All I'll say is I would love to be able to write as well as Maxwell, and I was never entirely sure how things were going to come together or play out. I could not put it down.