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Title details for The Book of Fire by Christy Lefteri - Available

The Book of Fire

A Novel

by Christy Lefteri
Alix Dunmore
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
“A tender depiction of loss and healing that raises questions about guilt and blame in the age of climate change.”—People

“As with The Beekeeper of Aleppo, Lefteri transports the reader to a once lush and now destroyed world.”—Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale
In present-day Greece, deep in an ancient forest, lives a family: Irini, a musician, who teaches children to read and play music; her husband, Tasso, who paints pictures of the forest, his greatest muse; and Chara, their young daughter, whose name means joy. On the fateful day that will forever alter the trajectory of their lives, flames chase fleeing birds across the sky. The wildfire that will consume their home, and their lives as they know it, races toward them.
Months later, as the village tries to rebuild, Irini stumbles upon the man who started the fire, a land speculator who had intended only a small, controlled burn to clear forestland to build on but instead ignited a catastrophe. He is dying, although the cause is unclear, and in her anger at all he took from them, Irini makes a split-second decision that will haunt her.
As the local police investigate the suspicious death, Tasso mourns his father, who has not been seen since before the fire. Tasso’s hands were burnt in the flames, leaving him unable to paint, and he struggles to cope with the overwhelming loss of his artistic voice and his beloved forest. Only his young daughter, who wants to repair the damage that’s been done, gives him hope for the future.
Gorgeously written, sweeping in scope and intimate in tone, The Book of Fire is a masterful work about the search for meaning in the wake of tragedy, as well as the universal ties that bind people together, and to the land that they call home.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 2, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593787212
      • File size: 259226 KB
      • Duration: 09:00:03

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      November 27, 2023
      In the dramatic latest from Lefteri (Songbirds), a Greek community deals with the aftermath of an out-of-control fire. Music teacher Irini Diamandis survived the blaze with her daughter Chara and artist husband Tasso. They live in Tasso’s father’s house, which was spared by the fire, but Tasso is nearly catatonic, and Chara and Irini are caught in loops of anxiety. On a walk through the ravaged land, Irini comes across real estate developer Michael Trachonides, who intended to burn five acres adjacent to the neighborhood but lost control of the blaze. Michael, who is sitting on the ground against a tree, has a rope around his neck and is barely breathing. Irini panics and flees, only to return later and find him dead. Unsure if he was lynched or had hanged himself, she hesitates to call the police, but Tasso convinces her she must. Lefteri shapes the plot with elegant subtlety, portraying the questions about Michael’s death as a nagging uncertainty rather than a lurid mystery. Irini’s lyrical narration details her family’s harrowing experience of the blaze and takes measure of how it “turned to ashes the people we once were.” This hits hard. Agent: Marianne Gunn O’Connor, Marianne Gunn O’Connor Literary.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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