A Wild Winter Swan
A Wild Winter Swan by Gregory Maguire is a reprint edition published by HarperCollins Publishers on September 14, 2021. This 230-page book presents a poignant coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of Christmas in 1960s New York, reimagining Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Wild Swans.” The narrative follows Laura, a teenager grappling with grief after her brother’s death and her mother’s emotional breakdown, as she navigates life with her strict grandparents and faces the prospect of being sent to boarding school.
Readers will find a tale that intertwines themes of class, isolation, and family through Laura’s experiences. As she encounters a mysterious swan boy with a missing wing, Laura’s efforts to help him reflect her own struggles and desires for connection and support. The story delves into the complexities of her relationships and the challenges of growing up, all while maintaining an element of magical realism that enriches the narrative. This edition is presented in English and captures the essence of Maguire’s unique storytelling style.
Official synopsis Publisher
After brilliantly reimagining the worlds of Oz, Wonderland, Dickensian London, and the Nutcracker, the New York Times bestselling author of Wicked turns his unconventional genius to Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Wild Swans,” transforming this classic tale into an Italian-American girl’s poignant coming-of-age story, set amid the magic of Christmas in 1960s New York.
Following her brother’s death and her mother’s emotional breakdown, Laura now lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, in a lonely townhouse she shares with her old-world, strict, often querulous grandparents. But the arrangement may be temporary. The quiet, awkward teenager has been getting into trouble at home and has been expelled from her high school for throwing a record album at a popular girl who bullied her. When Christmas is over and the new year begins, Laura may find herself at boarding school in Montreal.
Nearly unmoored from reality through her panic and submerged grief, Laura is startled when a handsome swan boy with only one wing lands on her roof. Hiding him from her ever-bickering grandparents, Laura tries to build the swan boy a wing so he can fly home. But the task is too difficult to accomplish herself. Little does Laura know that her struggle to find help for her new friend parallels that of her grandparents, who are desperate for a distant relative’s financial aid to save the family store.
As he explores themes of class, isolation, family, and the dangerous yearning to be saved by a power greater than ourselves, Gregory Maguire conjures a haunting, beautiful tale of magical realism that illuminates one young woman’s heartbreak and hope as she begins the inevitable journey to adulthood.
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