LAPVONA

In a village buffeted by natural disasters, a motherless shepherd boy finds himself part of a power struggle that puts the communitys faith to a savage test, in a spellbinding novel that represents Ottessa Moshfeghs most exciting leap yet

Little Marek, the abused and delusional son of the village shepherd, believes his mother died giving birth to him. One of Mareks few consola­tions is his enduring bond with the blind village midwife, Ina, who suckled him when he was a baby. For some people, Inas ability to receive trans­missions of sacred knowledge from the natural world is a godsend. For others, Inas home in the woods is a godless place.

The peoples desperate need to believe that there are powers that be who have their best interests at heart is put to a cruel test by their depraved lord and governor, especially in this year of record drought and famine. But when fate brings Marek into violent proximity to the lords family, new and occult forces arise to upset the old order. By years end, the veil between blindness and sight, life and death, and the natural world and the spirit world will prove to be very thin indeed.