Title: A Girl Made of Air
Author: Nadia Hetherington
Publisher: Quercus
Publication Date: 2 September 2021
Pages: 276
Format: eBook - EPUB
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Source: ARC via NetGalley
A lyrical and atmospheric homage to the strange and extraordinary, perfect for fans of Angela Carter and Erin Morgenstern.
This is the story of The Greatest Funambulist Who Ever Lived...
Born into a post-war circus family, our nameless star was unwanted and forgotten, abandoned in the shadows of the big top. until the bright light of Serendipity Wilson threw her into focus.
Now an adult, haunted by an incident in which a child was lost from the circus, our narrator, a tightrope artiste, weaves together her spellbinding tales of circus legends, earthy magic and folklore, all in the hope of finding the child... But will her story be enough to bring the pair together again?
Beautiful and intoxicating, A Girl Made of Air brings the circus to life in all of its grime and glory; Marina, Manu, Serendipity Wilson, Fausto, Big Gen and Mouse will live long in the hearts of readers. As will this story of loss and reconciliation, of storytelling and truth.
A Girl Made of Air by Nadia Hetherington was a slightly different kind of story from the one I'd imagined after reading the blurb, but it was no less interesting because of that. While there are some fantastical moments woven in, I think it is misleading to compare this work to that of Erin Morgenstern, as it was less magical realism and more gritty realism a lot of the time, despite the fairytales woven into the narrative and the circus setting. At its heart, this is a story of regret and trauma and finding a way to come to terms with the past. The characters were memorable and well drawn and the story moved along at a good pace, so overall it kept me turning the pages throughout. As long as you don't start this book expecting a variation of The Night Circus, you will surely find something to both enjoy and ponder within its pages.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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