The Road from Belhaven: A novel
From the New York Times best-selling author of The Flight of Gemma Hardy, a novel about a young woman whose gift of second sight complicates her coming of age in late-nineteenth-century Scotland
“Bewitching and seductive.” —Rebecca Makkai, author of I Have Some Questions for You • “A treasure: a writer who understands the magic and mysteries of the human soul." —Chris Bohjalian, author of Hour of the Witch • “This book is a cold, clear, perfect lake." —Lauren Groff, author of The Vaster Wilds
Growing up in the care of her grandparents on Belhaven Farm, Lizzie Craig discovers as a small child that she can see into the future. But her gift is selective—she doesn’t, for instance, see that she has an older sister who will come to join the family. As her “pictures” foretell various incidents and accidents, she begins to realize a painful truth: she may glimpse the future, but she can seldom change it.
Nor can Lizzie change the feelings that come when a young man named Louis, visiting Belhaven for the harvest, begins to court her. Why have the adults around her not revealed that the touch of a hand can change everything? After following Louis to Glasgow, though, she learns the limits of his devotion. Faced with a seemingly impossible choice, she makes a terrible mistake. But her second sight may allow her a second chance.
Luminous and transporting, The Road from Belhaven once again displays “the marvelous control of a writer who conjures equally well the tangible, sensory world . . . and the mysteries, stranger and wilder, that flicker at the border of that world.” —The Boston Globe
“Bewitching and seductive.” —Rebecca Makkai, author of I Have Some Questions for You • “A treasure: a writer who understands the magic and mysteries of the human soul." —Chris Bohjalian, author of Hour of the Witch • “This book is a cold, clear, perfect lake." —Lauren Groff, author of The Vaster Wilds
Growing up in the care of her grandparents on Belhaven Farm, Lizzie Craig discovers as a small child that she can see into the future. But her gift is selective—she doesn’t, for instance, see that she has an older sister who will come to join the family. As her “pictures” foretell various incidents and accidents, she begins to realize a painful truth: she may glimpse the future, but she can seldom change it.
Nor can Lizzie change the feelings that come when a young man named Louis, visiting Belhaven for the harvest, begins to court her. Why have the adults around her not revealed that the touch of a hand can change everything? After following Louis to Glasgow, though, she learns the limits of his devotion. Faced with a seemingly impossible choice, she makes a terrible mistake. But her second sight may allow her a second chance.
Luminous and transporting, The Road from Belhaven once again displays “the marvelous control of a writer who conjures equally well the tangible, sensory world . . . and the mysteries, stranger and wilder, that flicker at the border of that world.” —The Boston Globe
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Community Reviews
THE ROAD FROM BELHAVEN, Margot Livesey’s brilliant new novel, captures readers from the very first sentence: “The summer she was ten she learned not to speak of it.”
Set in late-nineteenth-century Scotland, Livesey weaves a mesmerizing tale of a young woman burdened with the gift of second sight that burdens her own future.
In pitch perfect cadence and luminous prose, Livesey transports us to an insular world where she delves into the complexities of human relationships with depth and nuance, and where the flawed lives of her characters have much to say about the intricacies of familial ties and loyalties. One minute rooted in the present and mundane, the next drifting into the realm of the ephemeral, Livesey moves effortlessly between the here and now and life’s intangible mysteries.
Through her expertly crafted characters, Livesey explores the intricacies of familial ties and loyalties. One moment firmly rooted in the present, the next drifting into the realm of the intangible, Livesey effortlessly navigates between the tangible and the ethereal, leaving readers spellbound by her mastery of narrative.
In THE ROAD FROM BELHAVEN, Margot Livesey once again proves herself a master storyteller. This is literary fiction at its finest—a novel that resonates long after the final page is turned.
Set in late-nineteenth-century Scotland, Livesey weaves a mesmerizing tale of a young woman burdened with the gift of second sight that burdens her own future.
In pitch perfect cadence and luminous prose, Livesey transports us to an insular world where she delves into the complexities of human relationships with depth and nuance, and where the flawed lives of her characters have much to say about the intricacies of familial ties and loyalties. One minute rooted in the present and mundane, the next drifting into the realm of the ephemeral, Livesey moves effortlessly between the here and now and life’s intangible mysteries.
Through her expertly crafted characters, Livesey explores the intricacies of familial ties and loyalties. One moment firmly rooted in the present, the next drifting into the realm of the intangible, Livesey effortlessly navigates between the tangible and the ethereal, leaving readers spellbound by her mastery of narrative.
In THE ROAD FROM BELHAVEN, Margot Livesey once again proves herself a master storyteller. This is literary fiction at its finest—a novel that resonates long after the final page is turned.
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