Up to the Light: A Novel
Mar 2027 · Sold by Flatiron Books
Ebook
304
Pages
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Eligible
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infoThis book will become available on March 30, 2027. You will not be charged until it is released.
About this ebook
"MAGNIFICENT...I could not stop reading it. I loved it.” —Charlotte McConaghy, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING author of Wild Dark Shore
“Armfield is an ERA-DEFINING writer.” —Kaliane Bradley, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING author of The Ministry of Time
“Armfield writes the kind of books that STICK WITH YOU FOR LIFE.” —Kristen Arnett, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING author of With Teeth
From Lambda Literary Award and Goodreads Choice finalist Julia Armfield, a novel following two climbers in the aftermath of an Alpine expedition that goes horribly wrong, pitched as Into Thin Air meets The Haunting of Hill House, by way of Brokeback Mountain
June, 1994. The storied Mount Varda has been untouched by mountaineers for decades: the last expedition ended in tragedy. When Liam Holness and Petal Coulson-Carter, best friends and celebrated climbers, are invited to join a team organized by the famous Jim Callaghan to pioneer a new route, they are initially skeptical. Working-class Liam and butch lesbian Petal exist on the outside of mountaineering’s privilege, and they have no interest in Jim’s media circus.
But the call of the mountain is too strong, and soon Liam and Petal are in the French Alps preparing for ascent. Joining them on the expedition is Bill Franklin, Liam’s oldest rival, whose sweet nature begins to break down Liam’s defenses, while Petal’s heart is turned by a climber’s widow living in the town. As the expedition looms closer, the climbers begin to experience sleepless nights, bad dreams, and hallucinations. And as they make their way up the mountain, the world gives way to something stranger. With oxygen scarce and the altitude dizzying, how can Liam and Petal be sure of what is real? And will they ever know what happened to those they leave behind on the peak?
Braiding Liam and Petal’s perspectives with Jim’s tell-all memoir in the expedition's aftermath, Up to the Light is a heart-pounding adventure story and an aching dual love story, with a horror edge. Gorgeously written, chilling, and entrancing, this novel asks why we are drawn to danger, and how we can find one another again in the wake of unspeakable loss.
“Armfield is an ERA-DEFINING writer.” —Kaliane Bradley, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING author of The Ministry of Time
“Armfield writes the kind of books that STICK WITH YOU FOR LIFE.” —Kristen Arnett, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING author of With Teeth
From Lambda Literary Award and Goodreads Choice finalist Julia Armfield, a novel following two climbers in the aftermath of an Alpine expedition that goes horribly wrong, pitched as Into Thin Air meets The Haunting of Hill House, by way of Brokeback Mountain
June, 1994. The storied Mount Varda has been untouched by mountaineers for decades: the last expedition ended in tragedy. When Liam Holness and Petal Coulson-Carter, best friends and celebrated climbers, are invited to join a team organized by the famous Jim Callaghan to pioneer a new route, they are initially skeptical. Working-class Liam and butch lesbian Petal exist on the outside of mountaineering’s privilege, and they have no interest in Jim’s media circus.
But the call of the mountain is too strong, and soon Liam and Petal are in the French Alps preparing for ascent. Joining them on the expedition is Bill Franklin, Liam’s oldest rival, whose sweet nature begins to break down Liam’s defenses, while Petal’s heart is turned by a climber’s widow living in the town. As the expedition looms closer, the climbers begin to experience sleepless nights, bad dreams, and hallucinations. And as they make their way up the mountain, the world gives way to something stranger. With oxygen scarce and the altitude dizzying, how can Liam and Petal be sure of what is real? And will they ever know what happened to those they leave behind on the peak?
Braiding Liam and Petal’s perspectives with Jim’s tell-all memoir in the expedition's aftermath, Up to the Light is a heart-pounding adventure story and an aching dual love story, with a horror edge. Gorgeously written, chilling, and entrancing, this novel asks why we are drawn to danger, and how we can find one another again in the wake of unspeakable loss.
"MAGNIFICENT...I could not stop reading it. I loved it.” —Charlotte McConaghy, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING author of Wild Dark Shore
“Armfield is an ERA-DEFINING writer.” —Kaliane Bradley, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING author of The Ministry of Time
“Armfield writes the kind of books that STICK WITH ...
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About the author
Julia Armfield is the author of the novels Up to the Light, Private Rites, and Our Wives Under the Sea, which was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award and the 2022 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Horror and Best Debut Novel, and the story collection salt slow. Her work has been published in Granta, Lighthouse, Analog Magazine, Neon, and Best British Short Stories 2019 and 2021. She is the winner of the White Review Short Story Prize and a Pushcart Prize, and she was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Awards in 2019. She lives and works in London.
Julia Armfield is the author of the novels Up to the Light, Private Rites, and Our Wives Under the Sea, which was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award and the 2022 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Horror and Best Debut Novel, and the story collection salt slow. Her work has been published in G...
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