Glittering World

AS A BOY, HE VANISHED INTO THE WOODS.

SOMETHING ELSE CAME BACK.

In the tradition of Neil Gaiman (The Ocean at the End of the Lane), Scott Smith (The Ruins), and Jason Mott (The Returned), award-winning playwright Robert Levy spins a dark tale of alienation and belonging, the familiar and the surreal, family secrets and the search for truth in his debut supernatural thriller.

When up-and-coming chef Michael “Blue” Whitley returns with three friends to the remote Canadian community of his birth, it appears to be the perfect getaway from New York. He soon discovers, however, that everything he thought he knew about himself is a carefully orchestrated lie. Though he had no recollection of the event, as a young boy, Blue and another child went missing for weeks in the idyllic, mysterious woods of Starling Cove. Soon thereafter, his mother suddenly fled with him to America, their homeland left behind.

But then Blue begins to remember. And once the shocking truth starts bleeding back into his life, his closest friends—Elisa, his former partner in crime; her stalwart husband, Jason; and Gabe, Blue’s young and admiring coworker—must unravel the secrets of Starling Cove and the artists’ colony it once harbored. All four will face their troubled pasts, their most private demons, and a mysterious race of beings that inhabits the land, spoken of by the locals only as the Other Kind...

Robert Levy's transcendent first novel balances on the knife-edge between psychological horror and mainstream thriller — a beautifully written book that propels readers into a deeply unsettling and moving journey through the uncanny, haunted byways of Nova Scotia and Celtic myth, and the even deeper mysteries of human loss and enduring love.  Levy's work deserves a place beside that of Peter Straub, Graham Joyce, and Mark. Z. Danielewski:  The Glittering World is one of the strongest literary debuts of recent years.

"Robert Levy spins a dark and mythic tale. Exquisitely allegorical, this novel seethes with menace, romance, and mystery. The Glittering World is a powerful debut."

"As imaginative and frightening as a whole gallery of surrealist paintings come luridly to life."

"A luscious, compelling tangle of a thriller. The Glittering World maps the realms of friendship and identity, the mythic and the contemporary. I loved it."

"The Glittering World is a stunning phantasmagoria drawn from the world just beneath the surface, aswarm with great and memorable characters and a plot that twists and turns as it hurtles forward. A grand debut. One taste, and you'll be addicted."

"Frightening and supernatural . . . the imaginative plot is first rate."

"Fast paced, yet it also succeeds as a reflective tale of self-discovery...Well crafted, atmospheric, and whimsical, this will attract readers who enjoy Neil Gaiman and Mark Z. Danielewski."

"Emotionally complex… Levy’s atmospherics are all encompassing, and fantastic. A darkly romantic, lovely, sometimes horrifying, and yes, glittering read."

"Levy's first novel is confident, brave, and beautiful in every way, with resonant warmth and an understanding of the fundamentally singular human experience."

A SHIRLEY JACKSON AWARD NOMINEE
A LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FINALIST
AS A BOY, HE VANISHED INTO THE WOODS.
SOMETHING ELSE CAME BACK.
In the tradition of Neil Gaiman (The Ocean at the End of the Lane), Scott Smith (The Ruins), and Jason Mott (The Returned), award-winning playwright Robert Levy spins a dark tale of alienation and belonging, the familiar and the surreal, family secrets and the search for truth in his debut supernatural thriller.
When up-and-coming chef Michael "Blue" Whitley returns with three friends to the remote Canadian community of his birth, it appears to be the perfect getaway from New York. He soon discovers, however, that everything he thought he knew about himself is a carefully orchestrated lie. Though he had no recollection of the event, as a young boy, Blue and another child went missing for weeks in the idyllic, mysterious woods of Starling Cove. Soon thereafter, his mother suddenly fled with him to America, their homeland left behind.
But then Blue begins to remember. And once the shocking truth starts bleeding back into his life, his closest friends--Elisa, his former partner in crime; her stalwart husband, Jason; and Gabe, Blue's young and admiring coworker--must unravel the secrets of Starling Cove and the artists' colony it once harbored. All four will face their troubled pasts, their most private demons, and a mysterious race of beings that inhabits the land, spoken of by the locals only as the Other Kind...

In the tradition of Stephen King (The Talisman), Scott Smith (The Ruins), and Jason Mott (The Returned), award-winning playwright Robert Levy spins a dark tale of alienation and belonging, the familiar and the surreal, family secrets and the search for truth in his debut supernatural thriller.

When Michael Whitley, otherwise known as Blue, takes three friends into the hinterlands of Canada to sell a house he’s inherited, it at first seems to everyone like the perfect getaway from New York. But when Blue and the pregnant Elisa disappear into the forest, it’s not clear if they were running from their problems, or toward something else. Left behind, the ethereal Gabe and Elisa’s husband, Jason, are left to search for their loved ones, unravel the truth behind the land they’re in, and, in the process, question everything they thought they knew about their relationships.

Locals talk of UFOs, faeries, and the Other Kind lurking out in the wild. But when Elisa returns through the forest alone, nothing could be stranger than the new mystery she brings with her.

Robert Levy is a Harvard graduate subsequently trained as a forensic psychologist. He is also an award-winning playwright, having multiple shows developed Off Broadway. His work has been called “frank and funny” (Time), “idiosyncratic and disarming” (The New York Times), “ambitious and clever” (Variety), “smart” (Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine), and “bloody brave” (SFX magazine, UK).