Description

‘A rare novel . . . Just read it. Lose yourself in it. Be changed by it’ – JENNIE GODFREY, bestselling author of The List of Suspicious Things

‘A stunning novel’ – OPRAH DAILY

A remarkable child transforms a small rural community – and, soon, the world . . .

In Lakota, Wisconsin, a young, unmarried Amish woman births a miraculous, eighteen-pound baby, and no one in the community knows what to make of the boy.

Raised by his brother on a struggling farm, Gabriel Fisher walks at eight months, communicates with animals and possesses astonishing athletic abilities. When his brother dies, Gabriel is taken in by his devout grandparents and, for a time, he disappears into the anonymity of Amish life.

But then, aged seventeen and nearly eight feet tall, Gabriel is spotted working in a hayfield by the local football coach. What happens next transforms not only Gabriel’s life but the lives of everyone he meets . . .

An extraordinary, timeless story of buried secrets and everyday miracles, for fans of Elizabeth Strout, Theo of Golden and ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’.

‘Life, and Death, and Giants is an intriguing and alluring novel from beginning to end. The events are startling, sad, amusing, invigorating and informative. Reading it is like meeting a family that you never knew existed and becoming close friends in a few weeks. Highly recommended’ – JANE SMILEY, author of A Thousand Acres

Readers LOVE Life, and Death, and Giants:

‘Oh, this book absolutely broke my heart into little pieces and stomped on it’

‘Best book I have read this year! Buy this, read this, pass the book on to someone else. It is that good!’

‘The end is mind-blowing’

‘Just so much heart . . . I honestly didn’t expect it to move me the way it did. Such a touching, powerful read’

‘A heartwarming, wondrous read . . . Be prepared to weep many tears’

Publisher Review

Life, and Death, and Giants is an intriguing and alluring novel from beginning to end. The events are startling, sad, amusing, invigorating and informative. Reading it is like meeting a family that you never knew existed and becoming close friends in a few weeks. Highly recommended -- Jane Smiley, author of A Thousand Acres A small-town novel as magical and moral as a tall tale -- Stewart O'Nan, author of Songs for the Missing A remarkable, profoundly moving novel -- Larry Watson, author of Montana 1948 Ron Rindo has crafted a novel that is remarkably generous, kind and graceful. This is a novel that still believes in magic, goodness and everyday heroes -- Nickolas Butler, author of Shotgun Lovesongs Deeply attentive and broadly generous . . . Rindo reminds us, through his careful and loving prose, that the mysterious and the certain are always partnered, and if we choose to, if we pay close enough attention to ourselves and the worlds around us, and if we share the news of what we see, we may build our own sturdy stools, and step up, and discover the giant in us all -- Karen Shepard, author of The Celestials