The Story of the Forest: Shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction 2023

From the award-winning Linda Grant, a vibrant imagining of the tumultuous world of early twentieth-century Europe through the eyes of Mina, a young girl whose adventures begin in a deep dark forest. 'Epic, magnificent, beautiful. A perfect work of art and craft and such a good story... I felt I was living it. I couldn't put it down' Philippa Perry 'Magnificent... flawless writing, wonderfully flawed characters, its epic sweep combined with a warm immediacy... I'm in awe, I'm charmed, and I want to press a copy on everyone I know' Nigella Lawson 'What an amazing novel... Vivid storytelling with complex and colourful characters... spectacular' David Morrissey It's 1913 and a young, carefree and recklessly innocent girl, Mina, goes out into the forest on the edge of the Baltic sea and meets a gang of rowdy young men with revolution on their minds. It sounds like a fairy tale but it's life. The adventure leads to flight, emigration and a new land, a new language and the pursuit of idealism or happiness - in Liverpool. But what of the stories from the old country; how do they shape and form the next generations who have heard the well-worn tales? From the flour mills of Latvia to Liverpool suburbia to post-war Soho, The Story of the Forest is about myths and memory and about how families adapt in order to survive. It is a story full of the humour and wisdom we have come to relish from this wonderful writer.