Roses and Rot
Published on 17. May 2016
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-1-4814-5116-1 (ISBN)
Description
Imogen and her sister Marin escape their cruel mother to attend a prestigious artists' retreat, but soon learn that living in a fairy tale requires sacrifices, whether it be art or love in this critically acclaimed debut novel.
Imogen has grown up reading fairy tales about mothers who die and make way for cruel stepmothers. As a child, she used to lie in bed wishing that her life would become one of these tragic fairy tales because she couldn't imagine how a stepmother could be worse than her mother now. As adults, Imogen and her sister Marin are accepted to an elite post-grad arts program-Imogen as a writer and Marin as a dancer. Soon enough, though, they realize that there's more to the school than meets the eye. Imogen might be living in the fairy tale she's dreamed about as a child, but it's one that will pit her against Marin if she decides to escape her past to find her heart's desire.
Imogen has grown up reading fairy tales about mothers who die and make way for cruel stepmothers. As a child, she used to lie in bed wishing that her life would become one of these tragic fairy tales because she couldn't imagine how a stepmother could be worse than her mother now. As adults, Imogen and her sister Marin are accepted to an elite post-grad arts program-Imogen as a writer and Marin as a dancer. Soon enough, though, they realize that there's more to the school than meets the eye. Imogen might be living in the fairy tale she's dreamed about as a child, but it's one that will pit her against Marin if she decides to escape her past to find her heart's desire.
Reviews / Votes
Howard weaves a dark and enticing tale of sisterly bonds, fairypromises, and the price of artistic success in this lushly written debutfantasy set in the present-day U.S. As a child, Imogen was certain that nofairy tale stepmother could possibly be crueler than her own mother, acontrolling tyrant. Fortunately, Imogen and her younger sister, Marin, escapedto pursue their dreams: Imogen as a writer, Marin a dancer. After seven yearsapart, the women are reunited when both are selected to be fellows at Melete, aprestigious artist colony in rural New Hampshire. Melete's fantastical campusseems perfect, but the sisters learn it's hiding an extraordinary secret:Melete's creative energy feeds the Fair Folk. Every seven years, the mostpromising Fellow is taken to live in Faery-and Imogen and Marin are shortlistedfor this dubious honor. Howard's characters are deftly drawn, and her writingis seductive as fairy magic. This story will resonate with readers long afterthe last page. -- Publishers Weekly *STARRED REVIEW* * April 4, 2016 * The realm of fairy tales meets the harsh world of the Fae in this starkly enticing debut. With undercurrents of darkness in the midst of the beauty of the arts, this is a Brothers Grimm tale for the contemporary reader. -- Library Journal, *STARRED REVIEW * March 15th, 2016 * "Captivating, fiercely smart (about sisters, artists), utterly transporting. I read it so consumingly, it was more akin to swallowing it whole. Not to be missed." -- Megan Abbott * , Edgar-winning author of The Fever and You Will Know Me * "A contemporary dark fantasy full of dark magic, the hidden traps of fairy tales, and painful humanity. I loved every page." -- Christopher Golden * , New York Times bestselling author, Dead Ringers and Snowblind * "Kat Howard seems to possess a magic of her own, of making characters come alive and scenery so vivid, you forget it exists only on the page. Roses and Rot is both beautiful and dark, lovely, and haunting." -- Anton Bogomazov * , Politics and Prose Bookstore * "Lyrical writing." * , Booklist * "This book is a love letter about creating art, directed at artists and creators in general and to the specific stories and authors that have preceded it-from Narnia to Angela Carter, Tam Lin to The Little Mermaid, from Ray Bradbury to Ellen Kushner to Delia Sherman to Neil Gaiman to Terry Pratchett to Maria Tatar." * , Kirkus Reviews *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Simon & Schuster
Illustrations
f-c jkt (fx: deboss, spot gloss over matte); digital
Dimensions
Height: 210 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
406 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4814-5116-1 (9781481451161)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Kat Howard's short fiction has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award, anthologized in best of and annual best of collections, and performed on NPR. You can find it in her collection, A Cathedral of Myth and Bone. She is the author of the critically acclaimed Roses and Rot and the Alex Award-winning An Unkindness of Magicians. She is also one of the writers of the Books of Magic series, set in the Sandman Universe. She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, and you can find her on twitter at @KatWithSword.