The cover of Daniel Wallace’s newest book, The Kings and Queens of Roam, is rainbows and butterflies; two silhouetted girls meet on a bridge spanning a bottomless valley; the text is made from twisted grasses. The story within, however, is not quite as picturesque.
The contemporary fairytale follows the insular lives of two orphaned sisters–one blind and beautiful, the other able to see, but ugly–as they press against the edges of their dying small town. The sisters are the last descendants of the town’s founder–a man who imported silk worms to the isolated valley, set on carving from the thick woods a paradise. The silkworms, however, did not take to their new home.
The town in the time of the sisters is far from a paradise; ghosts are taking up residence in the decaying opulence. Dogs run in packs through the streets. In this vivid setting, the sisters must rely on each other to survive, but their faults begin to overshadow their virtues as they grow older. Daniel Wallace weaves a complex story of jealousy and trust–the battle all sisters fight–until the conflict spills out over the edges of the town.
As he did in Big Fish and Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician, Wallace continues to expolore the nature of truth, revealing again that it is not what is seen but what is believed.
Daniel Wallace will be at Lemuria this Friday (May 10th) to read and sign his new book. Come out for $1 beers and a good time at 5 PM.
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