Swansong by Kerry Andrew
In this stunningly assured, immersive and vividly atmospheric first novel, a young woman comes face-to-face with the volatile, haunted wilderness of the Scottish Highlands.
Swansong is the real thing, right from the start: spiky, strange and contemporary, but always with a dark undertow of myth and folklore tugging at its tellingThe voice jags at you, and the plot grips: this is a brilliant novel by a writer - and musician - of frankly alarming talent. -- Robert Macfarlane
Like the great storytelling tradition it extends so elegantly, Swansong is all about transformation, whether through love, rage, fear or desperation: a chilling tour de force that draws the old gods and demons from the land, and lets them loose in the most unexpected ways. It is also an utterly compelling psychological thriller, a book you will simply refuse to put down until the last piece of its extraordinary puzzle falls into place. Essential reading. -- John Burnside
I loved Swansong: a subtle, supernatural tale told in a present-day voice, unsettling right from the start. The writing is so vivid and charged with energy, it’s truly a remarkable novel. -- Shirley Collins
I miss my stop on the tube because I'm so engrossed. -- Sophie Gallagher * Huffington Post *
Memorably eerie ... When the tension is ramped up in the closing chapters, with false turns and twists galore, we root for [Polly] to the very end. -- Ann-Maria McCarthy * Times Literary Supplement *
Studded with pauses for melodic appreciation … [Kerry Andrew’s] sentences and passages are as finely crafted and nuanced as her songs. -- Sara Baume * Guardian *
A confident and atmospheric debut … Rooted in Celtic mythology and written with exquisite precision, the novel possesses a lyrical, dreamlike quality. -- Fanny Blake * Daily Mail *
A darkly captivating tale of myth, magic and sinister secrets. -- Eithne Farry * Mail on Sunday *
A compelling supernatural fable that casts a genuine goosebumps-on-arms spell. It also bears comparison with the best of recent British nature writing … Rarely do protagonists seize you by the scruff of the neck, but Polly Vaughan’s distinctive tone and vision do just that. -- Stephanie Cross * The Lady *
Elegant, eerie and strange, this is a brilliantly chilling debut. * Psychologies *
A haunting, mesmeric read. * Bookseller *
A very striking debut novel … A swift, lithe and engaging read. -- Stuart Kelly * Scotland on Sunday *
Atmospheric and disquieting. -- Sebastian Shakespeare * Tatler *
Assured, immersive and atmospheric. -- Louise Rhind-Tutt * iNews *
Like the great storytelling tradition it extends so elegantly, Swansong is all about transformation, whether through love, rage, fear or desperation: a chilling tour de force that draws the old gods and demons from the land, and lets them loose in the most unexpected ways. It is also an utterly compelling psychological thriller, a book you will simply refuse to put down until the last piece of its extraordinary puzzle falls into place. Essential reading. -- John Burnside
I loved Swansong: a subtle, supernatural tale told in a present-day voice, unsettling right from the start. The writing is so vivid and charged with energy, it’s truly a remarkable novel. -- Shirley Collins
I miss my stop on the tube because I'm so engrossed. -- Sophie Gallagher * Huffington Post *
Memorably eerie ... When the tension is ramped up in the closing chapters, with false turns and twists galore, we root for [Polly] to the very end. -- Ann-Maria McCarthy * Times Literary Supplement *
Studded with pauses for melodic appreciation … [Kerry Andrew’s] sentences and passages are as finely crafted and nuanced as her songs. -- Sara Baume * Guardian *
A confident and atmospheric debut … Rooted in Celtic mythology and written with exquisite precision, the novel possesses a lyrical, dreamlike quality. -- Fanny Blake * Daily Mail *
A darkly captivating tale of myth, magic and sinister secrets. -- Eithne Farry * Mail on Sunday *
A compelling supernatural fable that casts a genuine goosebumps-on-arms spell. It also bears comparison with the best of recent British nature writing … Rarely do protagonists seize you by the scruff of the neck, but Polly Vaughan’s distinctive tone and vision do just that. -- Stephanie Cross * The Lady *
Elegant, eerie and strange, this is a brilliantly chilling debut. * Psychologies *
A haunting, mesmeric read. * Bookseller *
A very striking debut novel … A swift, lithe and engaging read. -- Stuart Kelly * Scotland on Sunday *
Atmospheric and disquieting. -- Sebastian Shakespeare * Tatler *
Assured, immersive and atmospheric. -- Louise Rhind-Tutt * iNews *
Kerry Andrew is a London-based composer, performer, and author. She has won four British Composer Awards and is best known for her experimental vocal, choral and music-theatre work, often based around themes of community, landscape and myth. She has released two albums with her band You Are Wolf: Hawk to the Hunting Gone (2014), a collection of avian folk-songs re-interpreted, and Keld (2018), inspired by freshwater folklore. She made her short story debut on BBC Radio 4 in 2014 and she was shortlisted for the 2018 BBC National Short Story Award. She is currently working on her second novel.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781911214229 |
| ISBN 10 | 1911214225 |
| Title | Swansong |
| Author | Kerry Andrew |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Vintage Publishing |
| Year published | 2018-01-25 |
| Number of pages | 352 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |