About the book, from Penguin Random House:

“When Apollo Kagwa’s father disappeared, he left his son a box of books and strange recurring dreams. Now Apollo is a father himself—and as he and his wife, Emma, settle into their new lives as parents, exhaustion and anxiety start to take their toll. Apollo’s old dreams return and Emma begins acting odd. At first Emma seems to be exhibiting signs of postpartum depression. But before Apollo can do anything to help, Emma commits a horrific act and vanishes. Thus begins Apollo’s quest to find a wife and child who are nothing like he’d imagined. His odyssey takes him to a forgotten island, a graveyard full of secrets, a forest where immigrant legends still live, and finally back to a place he thought he had lost forever.”

About the Author, Victor LaValle:

“Victor LaValle is the author of the short story collection Slapboxing with Jesus, five novels, The Ecstatic, Big Machine, The Devil in Silver, The Changeling, and Lone Women, and two novellas, Lucretia and the Kroons and The Ballad of Black Tom. He is also the creator and writer of two comic books Victor LaValle’s DESTROYER and EVE.

His novel, The Changeling, will soon be airing on Apple TV+ starring LaKeith Stanfield.

He has been the recipient of numerous awards including the World Fantasy Award, British Fantasy Award, Bram Stoker Award, Whiting Writers’ Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, Shirley Jackson Award, American Book Award, and the key to Southeast Queens.

He was raised in Queens, New York. He now lives in the Bronx with his wife, the writer Emily Raboteau, and their kids. He teaches at Columbia University.

He can be kind of hard to reach, but he still loves you.”

Why I selected The Changeling for the August 2023 Giveaway:

• This gnome read this book a few years ago, shortly after it came out, and LOVED it – it’s weird and creepy in the best way possible. It will definitely help you get in the mood for spooky season, which is this gnome’s favorite season!
• This book focuses on the love of family and children from a father’s perspective, which isn’t always highlighted in popular contemporary literature.
• Victor LaValle does an AMAZING job creating an atmosphere in this book – each setting and each location feel incredibly real – like you are there with the characters, experiencing all they are experiencing.
• This is also a book about books – a significant part of the plot revolves around the main character, who is a rare book dealer/collector, seeking out a rare first-edition signed copy of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Who doesn’t love a good book about books?
• The Changeling is one of those perfect books that is impossible to classify – it somehow blends so many genres into one story, and that’s a big part of why this gnome loves it. In a review of this book for the New York Times, they stated, “Admirers of LaValle inevitably declare him the love child of some unlikely artistic union. He’s Haruki Murakami mixed with Ralph Ellison. He’s Gabriel García Márquez mixed with Edgar Allan Poe. He’s Colson Whitehead mixed with H. P. Lovecraft, Thomas Pynchon mixed with Shirley Jackson. (These are mash-ups of mash-ups, a kind of critical metaconsensus.) The point is that readers are always struggling to communicate the odd hybridity of LaValle’s work, which blends social criticism with horror with the supernatural, while remaining steadfastly literary. And it’s true: His novels are tough to classify.”
• Finally, this gnome wanted to share this book in advance of the TV adaptation! For those of you who have it, Apple TV is releasing the first few episodes of their adaption on September 8 We watched the trailer and absolutely CANNOT wait ❤