Publishers Weekly
11/27/2023
Adeptly warping traditional fairy tropes, Burton (The World Cannot Give) weaves a lush ode to searching for the magic in life. Thanks to a neglectful mother, sisters Rose and Cecilia all but raised themselves in New York City. Whereas flighty Cecilia took off to search for love and adventure on her 18th birthday, Rose stayed put, building a stable life that includes a good job as a coder and a strong, loving relationship with Caleb, her boyfriend of five years. Now Cecilia’s back in town, and though Rose loves her sister deeply, years of witnessing Cecilia drift, coupled with the criticism of her sister she’s heard from others, has Rose questioning Cecilia’s place in her life. Then Cecilia begins to act even more erratically, talking about fairies and a mysterious, possibly mystical cabaret called Avalon before disappearing. Now Rose must choose whether to follow the magic and bring her sister home or remain rooted in the real world. Dreams and desires play a central role in this modern-day hero’s journey as the author teasingly unspools the truth about Avalon, all the while raising poignant questions about happiness, need, and personal growth, and leading readers to a startling and satisfying conclusion. This is a treat. Agent: Emma Parry, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc.(Jan.)
From the Publisher
Dreams of escaping the mundane animate this fairy-tale-inflected thriller set in contemporary New York. The novel’s action centers on Cecilia, a flighty “seeker” whose mercurial bent leads her to abandon a new marriage, ditch her sister, Rose, and take up with a cultish, seafaring cabaret troupe.... Exploring the bond between the markedly different siblings, Burton examines their life styles—the bourgeois and the bohemian, the materialistic and the artistic—through a whimsical lens.” –The New Yorker
“Crackling with tension and magic, and full of poignant questions about dreams and desires, HERE IN AVALON is Burton’s best book thus far. Perfect for readers of fractured fairy tales, novels involving sibling dynamics, and anyone who wants to escape their woes for a night, this is a treat as decadent and dangerous as a poisoned apple.”—Bookreporter
“Burton’s latest enthralls while exploring the frequently fraught nature of adult sibling relationships. Cecilia serves as the book’s third rail, dividing its characters and imbuing every scene with a crackling tension. At once spellbinding and sincere.”—Kirkus
“Here In Avalon is an exploration of this tension: between the “insane” and the “well-adjusted,” the secular and the enchanted, rationalistic and magical thinking, the self-selected and the gratuitously received.... Without offering any definitive answers, the novel’s plot confronts us with the reality that while an “algorithmic” life can promise us safety and predictability, a life spent chasing after enchantment and surprises can open the door to danger as well as to joyous rapture.”—RealClear Books
“Truly entrancing.... this title claims the spot for my favorite fiction read since Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi.”—Englewood Review
“This book is moody, musical, and mystical, elements that become catalysts for characters to make existential decisions about how to live. Among Burton's strengths are descriptions of the city and of the hard choices we all make. Readers will enjoy this satisfying story of sisters trying to understand each other.”—Booklist
“Tara Isabella Burton's HERE IN AVALON is a salty, whimsical-in-the-best-way, windy, enchanting, operatic story. It made me feel like the luckiest reader in the world. There is so much to love in here, most of all, the refreshing cast of unforgettable characters, misfits and searchers who don't always know what they want, let alone how to get it. A truly exciting, stand-out, star of a book."—CAROLINE KEPNES, author of New York Times bestseller YOU
“There is absolutely nothing I didn't love about this remarkable, exceptionally engaging and intelligent, luminous and transfixing urban fairytale for grownups. It is one of those rare books that, seemingly without any deliberate effort, lift you up above the familiar, ordinary grayness of the daily grind and, however fleetingly or enduringly, remind you to feel grateful for being alive. Indeed, it is true: another life is possible, happiness awaits patiently for you to believe in its promise—and yes, everything connects.”—MIKHAIL IOSSEL, author of Love Like Water, Love Like Fire
“An utterly enchanting read that springs from the shadowy depths and liminal spaces of New York City, Here in Avalon dared us to shatter the binding social contracts we’ve signed in search of something greater, and is a dazzling testament to the realest magic in the world: family.”—LING LING HUANG, author of Natural Beauty
“A New York City fairy tale with the dark intrigue of a 1920s noir, Here In Avalon is a hypnotic story of sisterhood, tragedy, and yearning. For love, for art, for beauty— and for the reckless courage to chase them, no matter the cost.” —KAT ROSENFIELD, author of You Must Remember This
“Here in Avalon is a fascinating trip to a demimonde of Burton's prodigious imagination. In its mysterious bacchanal, we find a unique story about the seductions of art and beauty, and the temptation to leave the stultifying mainstream behind.”—LYDIA KIESLING, author of The Golden State and Mobility
“Adeptly warping traditional fairy tropes, Burton weaves a lush ode to searching for the magic in life.... Raises poignant questions about happiness, need, and personal growth, and leading readers to a startling and satisfying conclusion. This is a treat.”—Publishers Weekly
“A gripping and thoughtful fable of the theater of belief, the transformative promise (and menace) of art, and the costs of community and self-invention, HERE IN AVALON wears its pleasures proudly and its learnedness lightly. Tara Isabella Burton spirits you away and sets you wondering—if not quite caring—whether you'll be coming back.” —JULIUS TARANTO, author of How I Won a Nobel Prize
author of You Caroline Kepnes
A salty, whimsical-in-the-best-way, windy, enchanting, operatic story…[with] refreshing cast of unforgettable characters, misfits, and searchers who don’t always know what they want, let alone how to get it. A truly exciting, stand-out, star of a book.”
MARCH 2024 - AudioFile
Devon Sorvari brings this contemporary urban fairy tale to life with her portrayal of Rose and Cecilia. The two sisters, who live in New York City, are struggling to find their way in the world. In doing so, they must navigate their relationships with each other and with a mystical and mysterious cabaret troupe called Avalon. Sorvari's narration morphs during the book, giving a chilling reality to the journey these women undertake as each decides whether to embrace the cultish world of Avalon. As each sister becomes more and more involved with Avalon, Sorvari alters her narration to depict their surrender of independent thought. Although the vocal change seems like an odd choice in the beginning, as the narration continues, it has a chilling and sinister effect that is appropriate to the story. C.F. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2023-12-06
Two sisters chase a fairy tale across Manhattan.
Being raised by an eccentric grifter who fancies herself a “professional muse” affects sisters Rose and Cecelia Foster in different ways. Musician Cecelia blows off Juilliard to become an irresponsible, “idiotically openhearted” mess, flitting from lover to lover and continent to continent while seeking something ineffable; talented artist Rose, on the other hand, eschews creativity for predictability, double-majoring in math and computer science while maintaining the lease on their childhood apartment so that Cecelia will always have somewhere to land. Rose is a 28-year-old coder, engaged to pragmatic tech bro Caleb, when Cecelia, 30, leaves her new husband, Paul, and moves back in with her sister, claiming she’s there to stay. Rose’s hopes are high until Cecelia comes home one night clutching a card calligraphed with “THE AVALON CABARET” and “Another life is possible.” Cecelia starts behaving erratically, and when she ghosts Rose on Thanksgiving, then turns up the next morning rambling about magic and a little red boat, Rose snaps and evicts her. Weeks pass, and then Paul reaches out: Cecelia called him to say goodbye and asked him to tell Rose she was “going away with the fairies.” Caleb tells Rose to forget Cecelia; instead, Rose secretly teams up with Paul to search for answers, growing increasingly disillusioned with her own staid existence as their investigation progresses. Set in a New York by turns gritty and glittering, Burton’s latest enthralls while exploring the frequently fraught nature of adult sibling relationships. Cecelia serves as the book’s third rail, dividing its characters and imbuing every scene with a crackling tension.
At once spellbinding and sincere.
