Description
'A lush, dreamlike, wholly intoxicating novel . . . Honeysuckle is a fever dream that I won't soon forget' - Ava Reid, Sunday Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning
Once upon a time, on the edge of a forest, there was a lonely child with only his older sister for company. So his sister made him a playmate - Daye, a girl woven from carefully selected flowers and words.
Rory is gloriously happy, until he learns that Daye is a seasonal creature. At the end of each season, she must be woven back together or fall gruesomely apart. And when, one autumn, his sister fails to return home from university in time, Rory has no choice but to watch his best friend slowly crumble.
Realizing he can no longer rely on his sister to keep Daye alive, Rory determines he must leave home to learn how to do it himself. Rory sinks deeper into research and experiments to end the cycle of bloom and decay. But as Rory grows older, his thoughts turn darker . . .
An entrancing, inventive and unsettling reimagining of the story of Blodeuwedd from Welsh mythology, Honeysuckle by Bar Fridman-Tell is a feminist Frankenstein with flowers; a deliciously dark, twisted, horror-tinged fairytale with rot at its heart . . .
Imagine the literary folklore retellings of Katherine Arden put through a horror blender. Honeysuckle is a dark and twisted fairytale with rot at its heart . . .
About the Author
Bar Fridman-Tell has a BA in art history and an MA in English literature. (She gleefully wrote her thesis about Victorian vampires.) She has worked as a bartender, a bookseller, a translator and a library assistant. She is currently studying for an MA in Library and Information Sciences, hoping to stay in a library for good. She lives in Toronto with her professor husband and two very fluffy cats. Honeysuckle is her debut novel.
Reviews
A lush, dreamlike, wholly intoxicating novel with the elegant lyricism of modern fantasy and the deep, dark roots of ancient folklore. Honeysuckle is a fever dream that I won't soon forget. -- Ava Reid, Sunday Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning
A hauntingly lyrical, fairytale-like horror. I was absolutely enthralled with Fridman-Tell's lush world building and devastatingly beautiful prose . . . A searing addition to the literary horror genre, Honeysuckle offers a tale in which beauty is inextricably intertwined with rot, and with the unrelenting passage of time love serves as both a shield and a dagger -- Kalynn Bayron, New York Times bestselling author
Bar Fridman-Tell has created a rare, beguiling thing. A twisted, wild journey that deftly leads the reader through the forest of hopes and fears, Honeysuckle is a bold, haunting folktale for our times -- Ami McKay, bestselling author of The Witches of New York and The Birth House
Honeysuckle is a work of exquisite prose and deft magical realism. It is so nimble and elegant that the reader at first finds themselves in a dream-like world of beauty and childhood, surprised and delighted -- Heather O'Neill, author of Lullabies for Little Criminals
Honeysuckle is equal parts fairytale and nightmare, beautiful and terrifying, innocent and disturbed. A novel for anyone who contemplates the rot beneath lovely things, and a deeply impressive debut -- Danielle Valentine, New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Husband Cookbook
A flower-threaded horror crafted from myth and brimming with lush prose, Honeysuckle is an incredibly timely story about the corrupting power of desire and control. Unsettling and stunning in equal measure -- Maddie Martinez, USA Today bestselling author of The Maiden and Her Monster
Bar Fridman-Tell is a master of the botanical grotesque. This lyrical and captivating debut unsettles and shocks by turns, as a lush and dreamy childhood world gives way to a dark reality. -- Charlotte Cross, author of The Brides
Honeysuckle begins with a playful bargain but quickly descends into something darker, something that blurs the lines between love and ownership, desire and power, bond and bondage. This is magical realism at its absolute best . . . Escalating in dread from its first page to its breathless conclusion, this is a novel destined to become a modern gothic classic. A glorious, decadent debut! -- Anuja Varghese, author of Chrysalis
Book Information
ISBN 9781035067916
Author Bar Fridman-Tell
Format Paperback
Page Count 336
Imprint Tor Nightfire
Publisher Pan Macmillan
