A Green and Ancient Light
A dazzling literary fantasy akin to the work of Nghi Vo and often compared to John Connolly’s The Book of Lost Things, step into a world that parallels our own, during a war that parallels World War II, and be prepared to fall in love with this gorgeous and lyrical Realm Award-winning novel.
A young boy’s serene summer day is shattered by the crash of a bullet-riddled enemy plane. Further disrupting the tranquility are the arrival of Grandmother’s strange and unusual friend Mr. Girandole, and the discovery of a riddle in the sacred grove of ruins behind Grandmother’s house. In a sumptuous idyllic setting and overshadowed by the threat of war, four unlikely allies learn the values of courage, sacrifice, and what it means to be a family.
In time for its 10th anniversary, a new edition of A Green and Ancient Light.
Reviews
“The prose is frequently as beautiful as the images it evokes [...] This gentle, engaging, and very personal coming-of-age story is mythic in its universality.”
“This is a magical book that will appeal to those who loved Neil Gaiman’s THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE and John Connolly’s THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS.”
"Durbin’s gorgeously atmospheric novel solidly shares the fantasy-and historical-fiction genres...a delicate dance between reality and fantasy, ominous soldiers and late-night fairy music. Fans of John Connolly’s The Book of Lost Things will enjoy this bittersweet fantasy with a mystery at its core.”Booklist
“A GREEN AND ANCIENT LIGHT is a beautifully written, gently melancholy tale.”
“Durbin’s rhythmic prose and carefully honed imagery are so engrossing, I was completely disoriented by the sound of an elevator dinging outside my apartment in the midst of reading. The green of the forest—the leafy canopy and trickles of light through the branches—evoke a tangible atmosphere unlike any other book I’ve read this year.”
“Frederic S. Durbin’s A GREEN AND ANCIENT LIGHT. is a charming tale that combines fantasy and history into a quiet yet suspenseful story about a boy’s wartime summer in a small coastal town [...] Fans of fantasy authors such as Patricia McKillip will find a rewarding read.”
"The same magic flows in its veins as does in those of the classic The Last Unicorn or, more recently, Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane...I left a piece of my heart with A Green and Ancient Light."
“A GREEN AND ANCIENT LIGHT combines beautiful writing, [...] romance, war, mystery, and faery fantasy into one compelling, delightful story suitable for grownup or not so grownup readers alike. Read on!”Champaign News-Gazette
“This book didn’t feel long enough — not because of any flaw on the authors part — and that’s mostly because of the incredible writing, and how real everything about this book felt. I wanted it to go on forever. Isn’t that the true mark of a fantastic book? You never want it to end? And when it ended, it almost brought me a physical pain. This book is magic. The words are magic. The characters are magic. I wish I could read it for the first time over and over again. This is one of the best books I’ve read all year.”
“Tolkien and Lewis are clearly this novel’s spiritual fathers, and for their fans who long for one more story, A Green and Ancient Light is a worthy successor of their tradition by echoing their work without ever veering into merely derivative territory.”
“I LOVE THIS BOOK. It left me breathless [...] A Green and Ancient Light is SO GOOD [...] It brings an eloquent calm to the page reminiscent of Bradbury.”
"This is a lush and wonderful tale of discovery, relationships and mystery that is perfect for young adults or any grown-up who remembers what it was like to learn that not everything is always as it seems....If you like being pulled into a story, enjoy characters that spring off the page and revel in a tale that makes you ache for more, A Green and Ancient Light will certainly shine for you. On a scale of five stars, give this a five, brightly."
“Ultimately, A Green and Ancient Light is a beautifully written book, filled with the imagery of nature, and the imagination of a child inspired by a wondrous garden.”
“A GREEN AND ANCIENT LIGHT by Frederic S. Durbin is a reading experience to savor.”On Starships & Dragonwings
“Within a few pages, I found myself disarmed in a way I hadn’t been since my childhood, in the days when I routinely gave myself over to a book with full trust in the author to pilot my craft to its destination. Durbin earns this trust with a potent combination of lucid prose, tender introspection, and life-and-death suspense. A Green and Ancient Light is an intensely personal story that unfolds with the soft-focus nostalgia of a remembered childhood summer, but beneath its velvety surface hides a double-edged tale of political urgency and unyielding love. Some readers have compared it to Gaiman or Connolly, but I am taken back further, to Lewis and L’Engle. This is the sort of book a bright child might adore at age 10, then read again at 20, and at 40, to discover the layers she missed.”Mishell Baker, author of BORDERLINE
Awards & Accolades
USA
Powell’s Books: “Staff Pick” and Bestseller