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An eerie, hypnotic, darkly beautiful novel about two elderly sisters living alone at the edge of the world and how their lives unravel when their sanctum is breached, for fans of Piranesi and The Testaments. In a place and time unknown, two elderly sisters live in a walled garden, secluded from the outside world. Evelyn and Lily have only ever known each other. What was before the garden, they have forgotten; what lies beyond it, they do not know. Each day is spent in languid service to their home: tending the bees, planting the crops, and dutifully following the instructions of the almanac written by their mother. So when a nameless boy is found hiding in the boarded house at the center of their isolated grounds, their once-solitary lives are irrevocably disrupted. Who is he? Where did he come from? And most importantly, what does he want? As suspicions gather and allegiances falter, Evelyn and Lily are forced to confront the dark truths about themselves, the garden, and the world as they’ve known it.
Publication Year: 2025
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0This was a tale of dysfunctional family dynamics coupled with an overactive protective defense mechanism and an overwhelming will to survive. The paranoia laced throughout the book gives you a scene of an enemy on the other side of the wall, something that especially resonated in today's times with people being more divided than ever, just to find out that maybe the true enemy is inner demons all along. The ending was bittersweet, but it was one I appreciated. I also liked the openness of never fully knowing what the complete outside world was like but instead seeing the dichotomy of the two different sanctuaries that Evie found herself in. I would definitely recommend it if you're into dystopian vibes and human connection.
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