Palimpsest (novel) explained

Palimpsest
Author:Catherynne M. Valente
Country:United States
Language:English
Genre:Fiction, Novel
Publisher:Bantam Spectra
Release Date:March 2009
Media Type:Print (Paperback)
Pages:Approx. 367 pages
Isbn:978-0-553-38576-2
Isbn Note:(pbk.)
Dewey:813/.6 22
Congress:PS3622.A4258 P36 2009
Oclc:232129602

Palimpsest is a novel by Catherynne M. Valente, published in March 2009. It follows four separate characters as they discover and explore a mysterious city accessed only at night.

Summary

The novel follows four travelers: Oleg, a New York City locksmith; November, a beekeeper; Ludovico, a binder of rare books; and Sei, a train ticket-taker. They have all lost something important in their life: a wife, lover, sister, or direction. They find themselves in Palimpsest after each sleep with someone who has a tattooed map of a section of the city on their body. They each discover aspects of the otherworldly city. All of them yearn to live there permanently. In order to do so, they must find each other in the real world and reunite.

During the course of the novel, November recalls a favorite book of hers as a child. This book, which is only mentioned briefly in Palimpsest, was turned into a full-length novel in 2009. Valente wrote The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making as a crowd-funded project; in October 2009, she announced that it, as well as a sequel, had been picked up by Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Publishers.[1]

Reception

Palimpsest won the 2009 Lambda Literary Award for LGBT SF/Fantasy/Horror [2] and was a finalist for the 2010 Hugo Award for Best Novel.[3]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Catherynne M Valente - All Things Fairyland. http://yuki-onna.livejournal.com/538613.html. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  2. Web site: Lambda Literary Awards . 2010 Lambda Literary Finalists & Winners . May 2010 . August 29, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100817064122/http://www.lambdaliterary.org/awards/awards-finalists/ . August 17, 2010 .
  3. Web site: AussieCon 4 . The 2010 Hugo and John W. Campbell Award Nominees . April 4, 2010 . April 4, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120121025907/http://www.aussiecon4.org.au/index.php?page=66 . January 21, 2012 . dead .