A darkly beautiful, eerie, hypnotic novel about two elderly sisters living alone at the edge of the world.
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.
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.
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"“Gripping yet emotionally suffocating. . . Newman cleverly uses the mysterious boy as a catalyst to change readers’ perceptions of Evelyn, Lily, and their late parents, layering personal tensions over the mysteries of a world that may have ended. . . [A] stiflingly beautiful blend of the personal apocalypse of Paul Tremblay’s The Cabin at the End of the World with the mysterious introspection of Susan Fletcher’s The Night in Question."
— Library Journal (starred review)
A gothic novel of weird sisters in the vein of We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Nick Newman’s alluring debut twists and slithers into its own mysterious, compulsively readable shape. I loved it!
— Mason Coile, author of WilliamA gothic novel of weird sisters in the vein of We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Nick Newman’s alluring debut twists and slithers into its own mysterious, compulsively readable shape. I loved it!
— Mason Coile, author of WilliamA fairy tale which gets you by the throat and doesn’t let go. The Garden is both a horror story and a meditation on love at the end of the world. It’s a testament to Newman’s extraordinary gifts that its creeping dread never overwhelms its tenderness. The cool restraint of the writing only compounds its devastating power.
— Emerald Fennell, director of Promising Young Woman and SaltburnA fairy tale which gets you by the throat and doesn’t let go. The Garden is both a horror story and a meditation on love at the end of the world. It’s a testament to Newman’s extraordinary gifts that its creeping dread never overwhelms its tenderness. The cool restraint of the writing only compounds its devastating power.
— Emerald Fennell, director of Promising Young Woman and SaltburnI was enchanted by this spooky, dreamy novel. Expansive and claustrophobic in equal measure, The Garden is an eerie testament to the power of narrative to shape our reality—and the lengths we’ll go to in order to protect what we believe.
— Sara Sligar, author of Vantage PointNick Newman has spun the most haunting, gripping type of apocalyptic story: one that focuses on the fragile bonds of family and the dance between trust and survival. With shades of Shirley Jackson and Susanna Clarke, The Garden is a shapeshifting fable that will stay with you long after you leave it behind.
— Sara Flannery Murphy, author of The Wonder StateNick Newman’s The Garden is a dreamy, evocative novel that reads like a grown-up fairytale.
— Araminta Hall, author of One of the Good Guys"The Garden is a seductive modern fairytale that glitters with menace and mystery. Newman writes beautifully about isolation, confinement and contagious fear, while tending a plot that is as tangled and twisty as Evelyn and Lily’s beloved wilderness. This is a gorgeously imagined novel about growth, retreat and the sacrifices we make to protect our beliefs—and the people we love. —Emma Stonex, author of The Lamplighters
A fairy tale which gets you by the throat and doesn’t let go. The Garden is both a horror story and a meditation on love at the end of the world. It’s a testament to Newman’s extraordinary gifts that its creeping dread never overwhelms its tenderness. The cool restraint of the writing only compounds its devastating power.
— Emerald Fennell, director of Promising Young Woman and SaltburnThe Garden is a gorgeous tragedy of a book, highlighting the fear of loneliness and the toll self-sufficiency can take on a family that has no other choice.
— Booklist“[A] chilling speculative fable. . . Newman impresses with his atmospheric prose and sharp exploration of obedience and isolation. This will haunt readers long after they’ve turned the final page.
— Publishers Weekly“Gripping yet emotionally suffocating . . . [A] stiflingly beautiful blend of the personal apocalypse of Paul Tremblay’s The Cabin at the End of the World with the mysterious introspection of Susan Fletcher’s The Night in Question.
— Library Journal (starred review)“This climate-change horror story, reminiscent of John Wyndham, combines a bleak message and often brutal action with absolutely exquisite writing.
— Daily MailGripping yet emotionally suffocating . . . [A] stiflingly beautiful blend of the personal apocalypse of Paul Tremblay’s The Cabin at the End of the World with the mysterious introspection of Susan Fletcher’s The Night in Question.
— Library Journal (starred review)“Eerie, slow-burn . . . Part dystopian fantasy, part horror, this book is perfect for fans of Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle.
— Reader’s DigestAn enigmatic fable . . . This eerie, thought-provoking novel combines sisterly love and end-of-the-world horrors in an unforgettable pairing.
— Shelf Awareness“[A] chilling speculative fable. . . Newman impresses with his atmospheric prose and sharp exploration of obedience and isolation. This will haunt readers long after they’ve turned the final page.
— Publishers WeeklyA fairy tale which gets you by the throat and doesn’t let go. The Garden is both a horror story and a meditation on love at the end of the world. It’s a testament to Newman’s extraordinary gifts that its creeping dread never overwhelms its tenderness. The cool restraint of the writing only compounds its devastating power.
— Emerald Fennell, director of Promising Young Woman and SaltburnPart fable, part literary thriller, wholly unmoored from genre convention, The Garden may be the elusive inheritor to the weirdness of Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi.
— VulturePart fable, part literary thriller, wholly unmoored from genre convention, The Garden may be the elusive inheritor to the weirdness of Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi.
— VultureLike [Cormac] McCarthy in The Road, Newman doesn't seem much interested in the causes or details of the apocalypse. . . as with the exploration of vulnerable and often quite affecting characters [as] they try to negotiate strategies of survival between a dark past and a diminished future.
— Locus MagazineThis climate-change horror story, reminiscent of John Wyndham, combines a bleak message and often brutal action with absolutely exquisite writing.
— Daily MailGripping yet emotionally suffocating . . . [A] stiflingly beautiful blend of the personal apocalypse of Paul Tremblay’s The Cabin at the End of the World with the mysterious introspection of Susan Fletcher’s The Night in Question.
— Library Journal (starred review)“If Emily Bronte had written On the Beach, it might have read something like this . . . I found myself haunted by this dark fable and impressed with the balance between archetype and story.Be the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Nicolette McKenzie was born and
educated in New Zealand. Her television work includes the compilation and
presentation of three programs of New Zealand poetry for the BBC, as well as
comedy, revue, and popular drama. She played the role of Mrs. Bennett for the
BBC World Service adaptation of Pride and
Prejudice.