Lark Ascending

(Hardback)

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Description

A riveting story of survival and hope, set in the not-too-distant future, about a young man forced to flee the United States and seek refuge across the Atlantic.

As fires devastate most of the United States, Lark and his family secure a place on a refugee boat headed to Ireland, the last country not yet overrun by extremists and rumoured to be accepting American refugees. But Lark is the only one to survive the trip, and once ashore, he doesnt find the safe haven hed hoped for. As he runs for his life, Lark finds an abandoned dog who becomes his closest companion, and then a woman in search of her lost son. Together they form a makeshift family and attempt to reach Glendalough, a place they believe will offer protection. But can any community provide the safety that they seek

For readers of novels such as Station Eleven, The Dog Stars, and Migrations, Lark Ascending is a moving and unforgettable story of friendship, family, and healing.

Reviews

I was sucked into this urgent story where survival in the not-too-distant future depends on forging connections with strangers and nurturing tenderness and hope within. An essential, heartbreaking but ultimately uplifting read.
Michelle Gallen, author ofFactory Girls and Big Girl, Small Town

WithLark Ascending, the gifted Silas House has, with the most deft and masterful touches, forged a quite terrifying and all-too-plausible glimpse of our near future and somehow imbued it with almost impossible quantities of poetry and humanity. A gripping story of endurance, suffering and loss, but also of overwhelming love, loyalty and hope, the result is a hugely impressive feat of the imagination . . . A beautiful, haunting piece of work, and a compulsive read.
Billy O'Callaghan, author ofLife Sentences and The Dead House

InLark Ascending, Silas House casts an irresistible spell, conjuring a near future that is both familiar and unbearable, illuminating the brutality and suffering that our own thoughtless age seems determined to invoke. ButLark Ascendingis not merely, or even mainly, a tale of pain and grief. This beautiful book is shot through with such tenderness and humanity, such love and courage and beauty and hope, that it feels almost like a prayer.
MargaretRenkl, author ofLate Migrations

I was sucked into this urgent story where survival in the not-too-distant future depends on forging connections with strangers and nurturing tenderness and hope within. An essential, heartbreaking but ultimately uplifting read.
Michelle Gallen, author ofFactory Girls and Big Girl, Small Town

WithLark Ascending, the gifted Silas House has, with the most deft and masterful touches, forged a quite terrifying and all-too-plausible glimpse of our near future and somehow imbued it with almost impossible quantities of poetry and humanity. A gripping story of endurance, suffering and loss, but also of overwhelming love, loyalty and hope, the result is a hugely impressive feat of the imagination . . . A beautiful, haunting piece of work, and a compulsive read.
Billy O'Callaghan, author ofLife Sentences and The Dead House

InLark Ascending, Silas House casts an irresistible spell, conjuring a near future that is both familiar and unbearable, illuminating the brutality and suffering that our own thoughtless age seems determined to invoke. ButLark Ascendingis not merely, or even mainly, a tale of pain and grief. This beautiful book is shot through with such tenderness and humanity, such love and courage and beauty and hope, that it feels almost like a prayer.
MargaretRenkl, author ofLate Migrations

Adystopian classic, finding new notes of peril and possibility in the once-and-future homeland of Ireland and giving us the kind of richly observed alternative family that humanity of any era would call savior. It also has the best dog ever, excepting my own. Dont miss this one.
Louis Bayard, author ofJackie and Me

Silas House has always served as an ancestor from the past who has stepped into the present with rich lessons in tow. But withLarkHouse reveals himself to be an oracle from the future who has come back to illuminate our lived moment with a snapshot of what the years ahead could hold. The vision is terrifying and spare, but in Houses capable and delicate telling, it is also beautiful and compelling.Larkmarks a stunning turn in Houses career, taking him from the Appalachian Mountains to a post-apocalyptic Atlantic crossing, but I have no doubt that readers will follow Silas House wherever he goes, whether into the past or headlong into the future.
WileyCash,New York Timesbestselling author ofWhen Ghosts Come Home

I was sucked into this urgent story where survival in the not-too-distant future depends on forging connections with strangers and nurturing tenderness and hope within. An essential, heartbreaking but ultimately uplifting read.
Michelle Gallen, author ofFactory Girls and Big Girl, Small Town

WithLark Ascending, the gifted Silas House has, with the most deft and masterful touches, forged a quite terrifying and all-too-plausible glimpse of our near future and somehow imbued it with almost impossible quantities of poetry and humanity. A gripping story of endurance, suffering and loss, but also of overwhelming love, loyalty and hope, the result is a hugely impressive feat of the imagination . . . A beautiful, haunting piece of work, and a compulsive read.
Billy O'Callaghan, author ofLife Sentences and The Dead House

Just astonishing . . . Terrifying, moving, beautiful, instructive, and haunting. I have never been more deeply moved by a novel.
Lee Smith, author of Dimestore

InLark Ascending, Silas House casts an irresistible spell, conjuring a near future that is both familiar and unbearable, illuminating the brutality and suffering that our own thoughtless age seems determined to invoke. ButLark Ascendingis not merely, or even mainly, a tale of pain and grief. This beautiful book is shot through with such tenderness and humanity, such love and courage and beauty and hope, that it feels almost like a prayer.
MargaretRenkl, author ofLate Migrations

Adystopian classic, finding new notes of peril and possibility in the once-and-future homeland of Ireland and giving us the kind of richly observed alternative family that humanity of any era would call savior. It also has the best dog ever, excepting my own. Dont miss this one.
Louis Bayard, author ofJackie Me

Silas House has always served as an ancestor from the past who has stepped into the present with rich lessons in tow. But withLarkHouse reveals himself to be an oracle from the future who has come back to illuminate our lived moment with a snapshot of what the years ahead could hold. The vision is terrifying and spare, but in Houses capable and delicate telling, it is also beautiful and compelling.Larkmarks a stunning turn in Houses career, taking him from the Appalachian Mountains to a post-apocalyptic Atlantic crossing, but I have no doubt that readers will follow Silas House wherever he goes, whether into the past or headlong into the future.
WileyCash,New York Timesbestselling author ofWhen Ghosts Come Home

I was sucked into this urgent story where survival in the not-too-distant future depends on forging connections with strangers and nurturing tenderness and hope within. An essential, heartbreaking but ultimately uplifting read.
Michelle Gallen, author ofFactory Girls and Big Girl, Small Town

WithLark Ascending, the gifted Silas House has, with the most deft and masterful touches, forged a quite terrifying and all-too-plausible glimpse of our near future and somehow imbued it with almost impossible quantities of poetry and humanity. A gripping story of endurance, suffering and loss, but also of overwhelming love, loyalty and hope, the result is a hugely impressive feat of the imagination . . . A beautiful, haunting piece of work, and a compulsive read.
Billy O'Callaghan, author ofLife Sentences and The Dead House

In Lark Ascending, Silas House casts an irresistible spell, conjuring a near future that is both familiar and unbearable, illuminating the brutality and suffering that our own thoughtless age seems determined to invoke. But Lark Ascending is not merely, or even mainly, a tale of pain and grief. This beautiful book is shot through with such tenderness and humanity, such love and courage and beauty and hope, that it feels almost like a prayer.

Margaret Renkl, author of Late Migrations and Graceland, At Last

Kentucky Poet Laureate
Southern Literary Award Winner
Nautilus Award Winner Gold
Indie Bestseller
Salon Favorite Book of 2022
Booklist Editors' Choice of 2022
Garden and Gun Best Southern Book of 2022
Indie Next List Pick
Los Angeles Times'Most Anticipated Fall 2022
Lambda Literary's Most AnticipatedFall 2022

Awards

Kentucky Poet Laureate
Southern Literary Award Winner
Nautilus Award Winner Gold
Indie Bestseller
Salon Favorite Book of 2022
Booklist Editors' Choice of 2022
Garden and Gun Best Southern Book of 2022
Indie Next List Pick
Los Angeles Times'Most Anticipated Fall 2022
Lambda Literary's Most AnticipatedFall 2022

Silas House has always served as an ancestor from the past who has stepped into the present with rich lessons in tow. But withLarkHouse reveals himself to be an oracle from the future who has come back to illuminate our lived moment with a snapshot of what the years ahead could hold. The vision is terrifying and spare, but in Houses capable and delicate telling, it is also beautiful and compelling.Larkmarks a stunning turn in Houses career, taking him from the Appalachian Mountains to a post-apocalyptic Atlantic crossing, but I have no doubt that readers will follow Silas House wherever he goes, whether into the past or headlong into the future.

Wiley Cash, New York Times bestselling author of When Ghosts Come Home
A postapocalyptic epic that is quiet and lyricalan emotional testament to the power of hope.Booklist (starred review)
Truly harrowing, yet even more deeply aff

Author Bio

Silas Houseis theNew York Timesbestselling author of seven novels, one book of creative nonfiction, and three plays. His writing has appeared in theNew York Times, theAtlantic, theAdvocate,Time,Garden & Gun, and other publications. A former commentator for NPR'sAll Things Considered, House is the winner of the Nautilus Award, the Storylines Prize from the NAV/New York Public Library, an E. B. White Honor, and many other awards.