Gone are the Leaves
Anne Donovan
Available as Paperback
The new novel by Anne Donovan, the Orange Prize-shortlisted author of Buddha Da
Feilamort can remember very little of his childhood before he became a choir boy in the home of the Laird and his French wife. Feilamort has one of the finest voices in the land. It is a gift he believes will protect him …
Deirdre has lived in the castle all her short life. Apprentice to her mother, she embroiders the robes for one of Scotland’s finest families. She can capture, with just a few delicate stitches, the ripeness of a bramble or the glint of bronze on a fallen leaf. But with her mother pushing her to choose between a man she does not love and a closed world of prayer and solitude, Deirdre must decide for herself what her life will become.
When the time comes for Feilamort to make an awful decision, his choice catapults himself and Deirdre head-first into adulthood. As the two friends learn more about Feilamort’s forgotten childhood, it becomes clear that someone close is intent on keeping it hidden. Full of wonder and intrigue, and told with the grace and charm for which Anne Donovan is so beloved, Gone Are the Leaves is the enchanting story of one boy’s lost past and his uncertain future.
“Utterly mesmerising and moving. A strange, Scottish fairytale told in lilting, hypnotic prose”
Eve Harris, Booker Prize-longlisted Author Of The Marrying Of Chani Kaufman
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”Gone Are The Leaves is a poetic and deftly-crafted tale, richly told in magical language - a quest for purity, truth and ultimately, love. With consummate skill, Anne Donovan has produced a wonder of daring and passion, a mythical page-turner”
Kitty Aldridge, The Baileys Prize-longlisted Author Of A Trick I Learned From Dead Men
“Anne Donovan is outstanding”
Melvyn Bragg
“Quirky and endearing. Don’t wait until your next life too read it”
sunday Herald On Buddha Da
“An enchanting novel in which ordinary lives are illuminated with extraordinary charm”
daily Telegraph On Buddha Da
Anne Donovan
Anne Donovan is the author of the short story collection, Hieroglyphics and other Stories, and the novels, Buddha Da, Being Emily and Gone Are The Leaves, all published by Canongate. Her short story All That Glisters won the prestigious Macallan/Scotland on Sunday Award. Buddha Da was shortlisted for many prizes including the Orange Prize and the Dublin International IMPAC Award, and won Le Prince Maurice Award in Mauritius. Gone Are The Leaves was shortlisted for the Saltire Scottish Literary Book of the Year Award. She lives in Glasgow.