Leda and the Swan, Anna Caritj
Leda and the Swan, Anna Caritj
List: $22.50 | Sale: $15.75
Club: $11.25

Leda and the Swan

Author: Anna Caritj

Narrator: Alex McKenna

Unabridged: 13 hr 16 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 05/04/2021


Synopsis

“Affecting narrative about consent, power and loneliness.”—Time

“Intoxicatingly ominous.”—Kirkus Reviews

In a hothouse of collegiate sex and ambition, one young woman mysteriously disappears after a wild campus party, and another becomes obsessed with finding her.
 
It’s Halloween night on a pastoral East Coast college campus. Scantily costumed students ride the fine line between adolescence and adulthood as they prepare for a night of drinking and debauchery. Expectations are high as Leda flirts with her thrilling new crush, Ian, and he flirts back. But by the end of the night, things will have taken a turn.
 
A mysterious young woman in a swan costume speaks with Leda outside a party—and then vanishes. When Leda later wakes up in Ian’s room the next morning, she is unsure exactly what happened between them. Meanwhile, as the campus rouses itself to respond to the young woman’s disappearance, rumors swirl, suspicious facts pile up, and Leda’s obsession with her missing classmate grows. Is it just a coincidence that Ian used to date Charlotte, the missing woman? Is Leda herself in danger? As Leda becomes more and more dangerously consumed with the mystery of Charlotte and questions about Ian, her motivations begin to blur. Is Leda looking for Charlotte, or trying to find herself?
 
In Leda and the Swan, Anna Caritj’s riveting storytelling brings together a suspenseful plot; an intimate, confessional voice; and invaluable insights into sex, power, and contemporary culture.

About The Author

Anna Caritj holds a BA from the University of Virginia and an MFA in creative writing from Hollins University. She lives in Virginia with her husband. Leda and the Swan is her first novel.


Reviews

2 ½ stars (rounded up because tis' a debut) Alas, campus novels are my achilles heel(when will i learn?). “Perhaps this not knowing was the thrill of it: the mystery, the risk.” Leda and the Swan is an ambitious debut novel that sadly misses the mark. From its tired premise to its one-note characters......more

Goodreads review by Samra on July 10, 2021

the premise? amazing. but the execution? :/ I know other reviewers have mentioned this and I completely agree: this mystery was solved by a single conversation that happened to occur later on in the book. Seriously, if they had had this one singular and very important convo beforehand, the mystery wou......more

Goodreads review by Heather on November 18, 2021

Very unsatisfying. Was there really a mystery to it? It just drags on and on.......more

Goodreads review by CR on June 25, 2021

For a debut novel I was incredibly impressed. This one kept me engaged throughout the story. There were a few times where the pacing was a tiny bit slow but not enough to bother me. Leda wakes up after a frat party unable to remember much of the night and finds her lip cut and a girl that she spoke......more

Goodreads review by Kathleen on May 02, 2021

What happened to Charlotte? That's what Leda is obsessing over in this topical novel set on a college campus. Leda wakes up after a Halloween Party and can't remember what happened. Not to Charlotte and not to herself. Did she have sex with Ian? Did he assault her? What she discovers might not be su......more


Quotes

Praise for Leda and the Swan:

“A propulsive and beautifully written campus thriller." —People

“This thrilling debut novel from Anna Caritj gives the beloved campus novel an electric shot of mystery and, as its name suggests, offers a twist on classic notions of power and lust.” —Town & Country

"[A] master class in atmosphere, so intoxicatingly ominous . . . A lonely, brooding page-turner about agency, identity, and consent." —Kirkus Reviews

“Affecting narrative about consent, power and loneliness.” —Time

"If you’re a fan of books about ivory towers with dark secrets, consider Leda and the Swan a must-read new entry.” —Harper's Bazaar, "Best Summer Books of Summer 2021"

“Long on atmosphere, a spooky-bucolic campus setting, and the strong character building of its tough, guarded protagonist . . . Like the myth of its title, Caritj's novel entangles the vulnerability and agency of young, mortal women.” —Booklist

"Caritj pulls off a smart twist on the campus novel in her thrilling debut. . . . an engrossing tale about the nature of consent, sexual violence, and performative activism . . . The book’s strength is in Caritj’s prose, as she builds a brilliant contrast between the quotidian nature of college life and postadolescent feeling of otherworldliness. . . . This thoughtful exploration of contemporary sexual politics hits the spot." —Publishers Weekly

"Delivering a suspenseful plot and a necessary conversation around sex, consent, and power, this thrilling debut novel by Anna Caritj is one you won't want to put down." Women's Day

“A thrilling mystery that is a twist on a classic story. Caritj provides readers with an enthralling and page-turning debut. At its core, Leda is a captivating and suspenseful mystery that blossoms into an insightful commentary on ambition and sex in contemporary society.” Debutiful

Leda and the Swan had me totally enthralled. Anna Caritj has created a haunting and irresistibly intimate voice in Leda, a young woman navigating the bacchanalia of college Greek life against a riptide of both personal and public grief. This novel is a lush thrill.” —Kate Reed Petty, author of True Story

“A riveting debut. At once a contemplative novel about a young woman finding her footing in this uncertain world, and a propulsive page turning. A stunning read and an incisive new voice in fiction.” —Dana Czapnik, author of The Falconer

“Tense and terrifying and beautifully observed, Anna Caritj’s accomplished debut is a propulsive journey into the dark heart of undergraduate life. Leda and the Swan is both a thriller and a gorgeously crafted exploration of loss, grief, and the painful, dangerous work of finding oneself. An exhilarating novel!” —Kirstin Valdez Quade, author of The Five Wounds

“Dark, delicious, and dangerous . . . Leda’s story is electrifying. I read with bated breath, wondering the entire time what would become of the missing girl, what would become of Leda. Caritj evokes a college world that is at once familiar and transporting, thrilling and terrifying. As Leda grapples with crucial, age-old questions about desire and consent, Caritj’s plot offers a powerful modern twist.” —Anton DiSclafani, author of The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls