The Light of the Midnight Stars
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4.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Experience an evocative combination of fantasy, history, and Jewish folklore in this lush and lyrical fairytale-inspired novel from the author of The Sisters of the Winter Wood.
Deep in the Hungarian woods, the sacred magic of King Solomon lives on in his descendants. Gathering under the midnight stars, they perform small miracles and none are more gifted than the great Rabbi Isaac and his three daughters.
Hannah, bookish and calm, can coax plants to grow even when the weather is bitterly cold. Sarah, defiant and strong, can control the impulsive nature of fire. And Levana, the fey one, can read the path of the stars to decipher their secrets.
But darkness is creeping across Europe, threatening the lives of every Jewish person in every village. Each sister will have to make an impossible choice in an effort to survive—and change the fate of their family forever.
Praise for The Light of the Midnight Stars:
"Storytelling as spellcasting. Rossner has conjured something vivid and wild and true."—Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies
"Rossner creates a lush, immersive world through which the sprawling plot meanders, punctuated by moments of intense grief. The result is as lovely as it is heartbreaking." —Publishers Weekly
"Rossner's tale is as lyrical as the slow growth of roots, the quick dance of fire, and the stately procession of the stars. Blending folktale with history, hope with tragedy, its touch will linger on your heart long after you put it down."—Marie Brennan
For more from Rena Rossner, check out The Sisters of the Winter Wood.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Rossner's folklore-steeped sophomore outing (after The Sisters of the Winter Wood) offers a complex meditation on tragedy and tradition. Reb Isaac and his family live in the Jewish quarter of Trnava where they uphold the traditions of the Solomonars, a sect capable of powerful magic. Their story unfolds through the eyes of Isaac's three gifted daughters: romantic Hannah, the oldest, has a special connection to the earth; defiant Sarah can conjure fire; and Levana, the youngest and least developed, obsesses over the futures she reads in the stars. As a black mist descends on the town, infecting crops and creeping into people's lungs, rumors spread that the Solomonars are responsible. When a goyish royal converts to Judaism for love of Hannah, the anti-Semitism only worsens—eventually forcing the family to flee their burning village through the woods. When they emerge in Wallachia, they take on new names and set aside their old ways. But faith and magic linger in the sisters' hearts—and when they cross paths with the royal family of their new land, history threatens to repeat itself. With deceptively simple prose, Rossner creates a lush, immersive world through which the sprawling plot meanders, punctuated by moments of intense grief. The result is as lovely as it is heartbreaking.
