Smothermoss
Alisa Alering
Jul 2024 · Zando
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5 reviews
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264
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About this ebook
“Bristles with dark magic. . . . equal parts gruesome and gorgeous and otherworldly.”―The New York Times Book Review
“This beautifully strange book of the mountains is alarming and inspiring."―Samantha Hunt, author of The Unwritten Book
Winner of the Great Lakes Colleges Association Fiction Award
Finalist for the 2024 Big Other Book Award
A haunting, imaginative, and twisting tale of two sisters and the menacing, unexplained forces that threaten them and their rural mountain community.
In 1980s Appalachia, sisters Sheila and Angie couldn’t be more different. While their mother works long shifts at the nearby asylum, Sheila cares for their home and keeps to herself, even when enduring relentless bullying. Her fearless younger sister, Angie, is more focused on fighting imaginary zombies and creating tarot-like cards that seem to have minds of their own. When the brutal murder of two female hikers on the nearby Appalachian Trail stuns their small community, the sisters find themselves tangled in a dangerous game of cat and mouse. Angie discovers a ripped, blood-soaked shirt; money Sheila’s been stashing away disappears; and a strange man tries to barter with a woman’s watch at a local store. As the threat of violence looms larger, the mysterious, ancient mountain they live on—and their willingness to trust each other—might be the only things that can save these sisters from the darkness consuming their home.
In turns both terrifying and otherworldly, author Alisa Alering opens the door to the hidden world of Smothermoss—a mountain that sighs, monsters made of ink, rabbits dead and alive, and ropes that won’t come undone. Unsettling, propulsive, and wonderfully atmospheric, Alering’s stunning debut novel renegotiates what is seen and unseen, what is real and what is haunted.
“This beautifully strange book of the mountains is alarming and inspiring."―Samantha Hunt, author of The Unwritten Book
Winner of the Great Lakes Colleges Association Fiction Award
Finalist for the 2024 Big Other Book Award
A haunting, imaginative, and twisting tale of two sisters and the menacing, unexplained forces that threaten them and their rural mountain community.
In 1980s Appalachia, sisters Sheila and Angie couldn’t be more different. While their mother works long shifts at the nearby asylum, Sheila cares for their home and keeps to herself, even when enduring relentless bullying. Her fearless younger sister, Angie, is more focused on fighting imaginary zombies and creating tarot-like cards that seem to have minds of their own. When the brutal murder of two female hikers on the nearby Appalachian Trail stuns their small community, the sisters find themselves tangled in a dangerous game of cat and mouse. Angie discovers a ripped, blood-soaked shirt; money Sheila’s been stashing away disappears; and a strange man tries to barter with a woman’s watch at a local store. As the threat of violence looms larger, the mysterious, ancient mountain they live on—and their willingness to trust each other—might be the only things that can save these sisters from the darkness consuming their home.
In turns both terrifying and otherworldly, author Alisa Alering opens the door to the hidden world of Smothermoss—a mountain that sighs, monsters made of ink, rabbits dead and alive, and ropes that won’t come undone. Unsettling, propulsive, and wonderfully atmospheric, Alering’s stunning debut novel renegotiates what is seen and unseen, what is real and what is haunted.
“Bristles with dark magic. . . . equal parts gruesome and gorgeous and otherworldly.”―The New York Times Book Review
“This beautifully strange book of the mountains is alarming and inspiring."―Samantha Hunt, author of The Unwritten Book
Winner of the Great Lakes Colleges Association Fiction Awa...
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Ratings and reviews
5 reviews
Ethera
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January 4, 2025
I love the author's descriptions of the scenery and the general vibe the book has. The characters are interesting. The plot seemed disjointed and made me confused as to where it was trying to go the whole time, and honestly the ending didn't help with that. Perhaps I'm just bad at interpreting, but to me It made sense until around the last quarter when it got abstract and I couldn't understand what was real and what wasn't. It left me with more questions about the setting and the characters than it answered. A lot of things were talked about like they were important, but I still don't understand what they mean or how they're relevant.
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August 6, 2026
good
About the author
Alisa Alering grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania and now lives in Arizona. After attending Clarion West, their short fiction has been published in Fireside, Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, Podcastle, and Cast of Wonders, among others, and been recognized by the Calvino Prize. A former librarian and science/technology reporter, they teach fiction workshops at the Highlights Foundation.
Alisa Alering grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania and now lives in Arizona. After attending Clarion West, their short fiction has been published in Fireside, Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, Podcastle, and Cast of Wonders, among others, and been recognized by the Calvino Prize....
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