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The Weaver

A Novel

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

The author of the critically acclaimed Memory of Water returns with this literary ecological tale in the vein of Ursula K. Le Guin and Sheri S. Tepper, in which an innocent young woman becomes entangled in a web of ancient secrets and deadly lies that lie at the dark center of her prosperous island world.

Eliana is a model citizen of the island, a weaver in the prestigious House of Webs. She also harbors a dangerous secret—she can dream, an ability forbidden by the island’s elusive council of elders. No one talks about the dreamers, the undesirables ostracized from society.

But the web of protection Eliana has woven around herself begins to unravel when a young girl is found lying unconscious in a pool of blood on the stones outside the house. Robbed of speech by her attackers, the only clue to her identity is one word tattooed in invisible ink across her palm: Eliana. Why does this mysterious girl bear her name? What links her to the weaver—and could she hold Eliana’s fate in her hand?

As Eliana finds herself growing closer to this injured girl she is bound to in ways she doesn’t understand, the enchanting lies of the island begin to crumble, revealing a deep and ancient corruption. Joining a band of brave rebels determined to expose the island’s dark secrets, Eliana becomes a target of ruthless forces determined to destroy her. To save herself and those she loves, she must call on the power within her she thought was her greatest weakness: her dreams.

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from July 18, 2016
      Celebrated Finnish writer Itäranta’s second novel (following Memory of Water) is a finely crafted fantasy tale that seamlessly blends a coming-of-age story with high-stakes intrigue and danger. Eliana is a young woman who lives cloistered away in her island community’s House of Webs, where all orders pass through the head Weaver and the oligarchical Council. When Eliana comes across a wounded woman who has secrets and knows her name, they must work together to unravel the island’s history of political corruption and discrimination. Itäranta’s prose is luminous and filled with rich detail. The setting is inventive, yet one might imagine that it could have existed in our own world. Eliana has her own struggles with being an outsider, marked as undesirable by the rest of society; she is multifaceted and a sympathetic protagonist. Itäranta writes engagingly, displaying her setting and atypical characters in full color. Both seasoned readers of fantasy and newcomers to the genre will savor Itäranta’s captivating fiction. Agent: Elina Ahlback, Elina Ahlback Literary.

    • Library Journal

      October 15, 2016

      Eliana, a craftswoman at the House of Webs, discovers a wounded young woman and helps bring her back to the weaver compound. The woman has had her tongue cut out but has Eliana's name tattooed on her hand. As the two become close, Eliana's secrets are in danger of being exposed. She is a dreamer, and dreams are considered a disease in her world. The setting, a totalitarian island world ruled by a shadowy council, is well wrought but with a feeling more like fantasy than the author's explicitly sf The Memory of Water. The pacing is slow, however, and there are many long descriptions of dreams and visions. VERDICT Finnish author Itaranta delivers another lyrical dystopian novel. Those willing to put in the time will get a nuanced heroine, a tender love story, and lovely prose.--MM

      Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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  • English

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