Description

A wild and gripping novel about one woman’s quest to reintroduce wolves to the Scottish Highlands at any cost.

Inti Flynn arrives in the Scottish Highlands with fourteen grey wolves, a traumatised sister and fierce tenacity.

As a biologist, she knows the animals are the best hope for rewilding the ruined landscape and she cares little for local opposition. As a sister, she hopes the remote project will offer her twin, Aggie, a chance to heal after the horrific events that drove them both out of Alaska.

But violence dogs their footsteps and one night Inti stumbles over the body of a farmer. Unable to accept that her wolves could be responsible, she makes a reckless decision to protect them. But if the wolves didn’t make the kill, then who did? And can she trust the man she is beginning to love when he becomes the main suspect?

Propulsive and unforgettable, Once There Were Wolves is the spellbinding story of a woman desperate to save her family, the wild animals, and the natural world she loves, at any cost.

‘Blazing…Visceral…As McConaghy shows in this stunning book, the limits of language lead us to the limits of empathy.’ Los Angeles Times

‘Bold…A heartfelt and earnest novel’ New York Times Book Review

Publisher Review

Blazing...Visceral...As McConaghy shows in this stunning book, the limits of language lead us to the limits of empathy -- Lorraine Berry * Los Angeles Times * So damn good. A page-turner that makes you think and has a huge emotional impact -- Jeff VanderMeer, New York Times bestselling author of Annihilation (via Twitter) Bold...A heartfelt and earnest novel * The New York Times Book Review * Once There Were Wolves is one of those very rare, special novels that changes you as you read, which you do as slowly as you can because you want to savor it, except the pages keep turning furiously because the story is so thrilling and so powerful. It's beautifully written and smart and impressively, importantly atmospheric. And it's also funny and warm and perfectly crafted with some of the best characters I have ever read. I will be enthusiastically recommending this novel to everyone forever. Charlotte McConaghy has cemented herself as a sure-thing, must-read writer for me. I loved loved loved this book -- Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author of This Is How It Always Is This heart-pounding novel digs into the complex relationships between humans and the creatures with which we share the natural world * Newsweek * Suspenseful and poignant...humans and animals alike can break our hearts * Scientific American * Far more than an old wolves' tale. Instead, it illustrates what it's like to be an outsider from both a human and animal perspective and the level of healing and acceptance it takes from within to be accepted and to accept yourself * Electric Literature * Urges us to take a lesson from the wolves, and learn to lean on one another * BookRiot * Lyrical, captivating, thought-provoking and thrilling, this immersive read will capture your attention from the first page * Good Morning America * The Australian author made waves with last summer's Migrations, a meditation on climate change and loneliness, and returns with a new story set in the Scottish Highlands, where two twin sisters join a team attempting to reintroduce a pack of wolves to their natural surroundings * Entertainment Weekly * McConaghy excels at conveying the sensuous experience of nature and the emotions it provokes: wonder at its majesty, sorrow at its destruction. Unflinching in its view of the harm humans inflict on the environment and on each other and insisting on the interconnectedness of the two Once There Were Wolves delivers a powerful call for hope in the face of catastrophe * Shelf Awareness * Vividly realized... Gorgeously rendered...A story full of subtle surprises...This is a stunner * Publishers Weekly * Poetic...A lovely, gripping tale about a world that could be our own * Kirkus *