This past weekend at
SIBA, I listened to author
Rhodi Hawk discuss her debut novel,
A Twisted Ladder. Of the 40+ books I acquired at SIBA, this is the first one I picked up to read once I got home, and that's mainly because it sounded like nothing I'd read before. Hawk's 540-page book is by turns mesmerizing and eerie and thought-provoking. I suspect its haunting, lyrical questions about relationships, identity, and the power of the mind will linger.
Here's the description from the back of the book:
Psychologist Madeleine LeBlanc has spent her whole career trying to determine the cause of her father's schizophrenia. She always felt that if she could unravel the disease's origins, she could cure the man who left her and her brother, Marc, to practically raise themselves on the Louisiana Bayou. When Marc takes his own life, Madeleine embarks on a shocking journey into her family's history--fraught with dark secrets, conjured demons, and a powerful relative who puts Madeleine's own life and property in peril. The only way she can save herself is to face the ghosts of the past, the dangers of the present, and the twisted ladder that links them all together.
The imagery in
A Twisted Ladder conjures realistic snapshopts of the bayou, both antebellum and prohibition-era Louisiana, and post-Katrina New Orleans. I'm not an Anne Rice fan, but I hear she's an influence on Hawk's writing (and other reviewers claim that Rice fans will be Hawk fans).
I recommend this book to fans of psychological thrillers, well-written scifi, magic realism, and Southern gothicism. People who are interested in the human brain and its mysterious functioning will also have a great adventure with
A Twisted Ladder.
Want to win an autographed copy of A Twisted Ladder? In the comments field below, tell us about one book you chose to read because it sounded quite different from what you usually read or because you wanted to explore outside your reading boundaries. How did you experience reading outside your comfort zone? Winner will be randomly chosen and notified Wednesday, October 7.
UPDATE: Thanks to the four folks who gave interesting and intricate answers to my question! I used a random number generator to determine the winner. Congratulations to Katie B.! Katie, I'll contact you personally to get your mailing address. Hope you enjoy this autographed copy of A Twisted Ladder.
(Thanks to Rhodi Hawk and her publishers for giving me a free copy at SIBA two weeks ago.)
