3.5
The Gracekeepers
ByPublisher Description
For readers of The Night Circus and Station Eleven, a lyrical and absorbing debut set in a world covered by water
As a Gracekeeper, Callanish administers shoreside burials, laying the dead to their final resting place deep in the depths of the ocean. Alone on her island, she has exiled herself to a life of tending watery graves as penance for a long-ago mistake that still haunts her. Meanwhile, North works as a circus performer with the Excalibur, a floating troupe of acrobats, clowns, dancers, and trainers who sail from one archipelago to the next, entertaining in exchange for sustenance.
In a world divided between those inhabiting the mainland ("landlockers") and those who float on the sea ("damplings"), loneliness has become a way of life for North and Callanish, until a sudden storm offshore brings change to both their lives--offering them a new understanding of the world they live in and the consequences of the past, while restoring hope in an unexpected future.
Inspired in part by Scottish myths and fairytales, The Gracekeepers tells a modern story of an irreparably changed world: one that harbors the same isolation and sadness, but also joys and marvels of our own age.
— Finalist, Lambda Literary Award
As a Gracekeeper, Callanish administers shoreside burials, laying the dead to their final resting place deep in the depths of the ocean. Alone on her island, she has exiled herself to a life of tending watery graves as penance for a long-ago mistake that still haunts her. Meanwhile, North works as a circus performer with the Excalibur, a floating troupe of acrobats, clowns, dancers, and trainers who sail from one archipelago to the next, entertaining in exchange for sustenance.
In a world divided between those inhabiting the mainland ("landlockers") and those who float on the sea ("damplings"), loneliness has become a way of life for North and Callanish, until a sudden storm offshore brings change to both their lives--offering them a new understanding of the world they live in and the consequences of the past, while restoring hope in an unexpected future.
Inspired in part by Scottish myths and fairytales, The Gracekeepers tells a modern story of an irreparably changed world: one that harbors the same isolation and sadness, but also joys and marvels of our own age.
— Finalist, Lambda Literary Award
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Gracekeepers Reviews
3.5
“Beautifully descriptive, imaginative and fantastical. Character development could’ve been better, but she does such an amazing job of creating the world her story takes place in that it’s an easy flaw to overlook.”
“Audiobook. Waterworld as imagined by a woman. I can’t remember the last time I was as emotionally invested in the wellbeing of a character as I was with this girl, her bear, her baby, and her girlfriend. I wasn’t expecting a truly happy ending but I couldn’t have dealt with a total tragedy. Great use of someone getting exactly what they want as punishment. Overall a very moody, dreamy, foggy and beautiful story. Also loved the idea where clowns are basically Dali from Dragula.”
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