Foxlowe

A Novel

By: Eleanor Wasserberg

Narrated by: Charlie Sanderson

Length: 8 hrs

Publisher's summary

An astonishing literary debut about a young girl's coming of age in the haunting, enchanting world of an English commune - a modern gothic novel with echoes of Room and Never Let Me Go.

Foxlowe is a crumbling old house in the moors - a wild, secluded, and magical place. For Green, it is not just home, but everything she knows.

Outside, people live in little square houses, with unhappy families and tedious jobs. At Foxlowe, Green runs free through the hallways and orchards, in the fields and among the Standing Stones. Outside, people are corrupted by money. At Foxlowe, the Family shares everything. Outside, the Bad is everywhere. At Foxlowe, everyone in the Family is safe - as long as they follow Freya's rules and perform her rituals. But as Green's little sister, Blue, grows up, she shows more and more interest in the Outside. Before long she starts to talk about becoming a Leaver....

Building inexorably to its terrifying climax, Foxlowe tells a chilling, irresistible story of superstition and survival, betrayal and redemption, and a utopia gone badly wrong.

©2017 Eleanor Wasserberg (P)2017 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“An absorbingly creepy debut.... It’s a literary perspective much like that of Emma Donoghue’s Room, and used to equally chilling effect here.... The narrator’s voice is equal parts naive and wise; Wasserberg has a gift for allowing the reader into this world inch by inch while playing up its claustrophobic nature, as well as the aspects that make Green susceptible to its enchantments.” (Publishers Weekly [starred review])

“Wasserberg’s startling debut looks at childhood memories and how they never truly reflect the exact nature of history.... The author’s staccato first-person tempo conveys the disjointed recollections of a child hiding from secrets in her past. Readers with a penchant for the creepy nature of gothic tales will want to stick around for the shocking ending.” (Booklist)

“Foxlowe is gorgeous and seductive. The story propels you toward an ending that feels both shocking and inevitable, and the last line is a stunner. I was completely gripped.” (Flynn Berry, author of Under the Harrow)

Hoped for better

This was an interesting listen, but it wasn't the best written tale. Granted, it is told from the perspective of a child, but it went south too quickly. Too many inconsistencies.