Staff Pick
After married couple Zoe and Jake survive an avalanche, they are shocked to discover that every single person in their French Pyrenees resort has disappeared — and not only everyone in their resort but everyone in the entire town as well. Their dogged attempts at communication and escape are thwarted at every turn. Frustrated and bewildered, they begin to notice that things are not quite right with their environment and also, ominously, with each other. Joyce writes a taut, eerie, chilling tale that becomes more unbearably nerve-wracking with every page; increasing terror bubbles just under the surface. I so loved this book! Oh, Graham Joyce: you are my new favorite author! Jonathan Lethem could not have been more accurate when he wrote, "I won't bother saying Graham Joyce deserves to find a wide audience in America; rather, I think the American audience deserves to discover him." Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Award-winning novelist and cult favorite Graham Joyce transports readers to a mysterious world of isolation and fear with a hypnotically dark story about a young couple trapped by an avalanche in the remote French Pyrenees. . . a daring and powerful novel about love, loss, and rebirth.In the French Pyrenees, a young married couple is buried under a flash avalanche while skiing. Miraculously, Jake and Zoe dig their way out from under the snow—only to discover the world they knew has been overtaken by an eerie and absolute silence. Their hotel is devoid of another living soul. Cell phones and land lines are cut off. An evacuation as sudden and thorough as this leaves Jake and Zoe to face a terrifying situation alone. They are trapped by the storm, completely isolated, with another catastrophic avalanche threatening to bury them alive . . . again. And as the couple begin to witness unsettling events neither one can ignore, they are forced to confront a frightening truth about the silent land they now inhabit.
Award-winning author Graham Joyce has written a mysterious masterpiece, a tour de force that will thrill fans of Peter Straub and the hit television show Lost.
Review
"Stark, layered, ominous and yet appealing....Luckily for the reader, in the end Mr. Joyce delivers relief along with satisfaction and wonder." New York Times
Review
"Fans of the supernatural will enjoy this original love story." Library Journal
About the Author
GRAHAM JOYCE, a winner of the O. Henry Award, the British Fantasy Award, and the World Fantasy Award, lives in Leicester, England, with his family. His books include How to Make Friends with Demons, Smoking Poppy, Indigo (a New York Times Notable Book of 2000), The Tooth Fairy (a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 1998), and Requiem, among others.