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"Witty, atmospheric and filled with acutely observed characters, Stein’s ghost story possesses uncommon depth."
– People
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"A captivating page-turner."
– Minneapolis Star Tribune
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"Rich and textured...Stein is resourceful, cleverly piecing together the family history with dreams, overheard conversations, and reminiscences...a tale well told."
– Seattle Times
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"Set against the stunning beauty of the Pacific Northwest and told with expert angst, empthy, poetry, and mystery, Stein has created an ode to nature and redemption...in turns touching and classically sinister, with surprising twists."
– Interview Magazine
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"A haunting family saga."
– Good Housekeeping
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"Commanding...formidable...robust and well-written with beautifully clever diction and unexpected plot twists"
– Deseret News
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"Take equal parts mystery, lyrical magic, and a healthy dose of natural wonder, add a multi-generational family struggling with the ghosts of the past, literally and figuratively, and you have A Sudden Light--a beautiful, deeply thought-provoking story that is impossible to put down."
– Jamie Ford, author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
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"Wow! I devoured A Sudden Light, a grand, gorgeous, multi-generational epic of the Pacific Northwest. Garth Stein has given us another singular, soulful, and wise narrator for the ages, who tells us a story full of mystery and yearning. I adored this book."
– Maria Semple, New York Times bestselling author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette
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"This magnificent and haunting ghost story will pull you into its world and hold you captive, awe you with the enduring power and beauty of nature, and, on every page, fill you with amazement at Stein’s infinite compassion for the human condition…. A major achievement by a major American writer."
– Robert Goolrick, author of A Reliable Wife and Heading Out to Wonderful
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"Haunting in all the right ways."
– Booklist, starred review
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"A Sudden Light is the best of many genres: a ghost story, a love story, historical fiction….a truly killer read…a bold, poignant book about wealth, family ties, and the power--and fallacy--of memory."
– BookPage
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"Imbued with strong, quirky characters and the smell of place, the allegiances of family and the realization of mystery...When all is said and done, and you have turned the last page, you find you have loved the journey."
– Steamboat Pilot & Today
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"Stein's beautiful writing packs a velvety punch and is pure pleasure to read. A Sudden Light entertains with suspenseful story lines and satisfies with its message of family, story, and redemption."
– Queen Anne & Magnolia News
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"A 14-year-old boy trying to patch his family back together and a centuries-old ghost drive this novel's explorations of the connections between the living and the dead, parents and children, and what it means to be stewards of the land."
– Boston Globe
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"A story of empire-building, fathers and sons, family and environmental destruction, secrets kept and promises broken…a book worth reading."
– Aspen Daily News
Garth Stein: What Are You Reading?
Explore the Pacific Northwest in a New Novel by Garth Stein
Garth Stein: Book That Changed My Life
A New Family Saga from Bestselling Author Garth Stein
