Books
The Gracekeepers
Harvill Secker, 2015
Available in the UK, US, Canada, South Africa and Australia!
“The magical story of a floating circus and two young women in search of a home.
The sea has flooded the earth. North lives on a circus boat, floating between the scattered islands that remain. She dances with her beloved bear, while the rest of the crew trade dazzling and death-defying feats for food from the islanders. However, North has a secret that could capsize her life with the circus.
Callanish lives alone in her house in the middle of the ocean, with only the birds and the fish for company. As penance for a terrible mistake, she works as a gracekeeper, tending the graves of those who die at sea. What drove her from home is also what pulls her towards North.
When a storm creates a chance meeting between the two girls, their worlds change. They are magnetically drawn to one another, and the promise of a new life. But the waters are treacherous, and the tide is against them.”
Selected for the BBC Radio 2 Book Club
Selected for the Waterstones Book Club
For signed copies of The Gracekeepers, please contact Waterstones Argyle Street on 0141 248 4814. Or if you are outside the UK, please email me: hello@kirstylogan.com
Awards
Winner: Lambda Literary Award for LGBT SF/F/Horror
Shortlisted: The Golden Tentacle (Kitschies) Award for Best Debut Novel
Reviews
“If you want to read a very nice book about sea-circus gypsies that is kind of depressing and uplifting and really quite artistic all at the same time, this is a good pick!” – Felicia Day
“Everything about this book is beautiful; the language is as poetic and diaphanous as nature and the many characters who contribute to the story are utterly authentic in this magic realist world. This is a delicious piece of work from a supremely talented young writer.” – The Scotsman
“Logan crafts an exquisitely wrought diorama full of tenderly compelling characters; observations about grief, worship, social order, and human nature, and a love that transcends definition.” – NPR
“A lyrical debut novel that explores how our truest family is often one of our choosing rather than the one we’re born into.” – Washington Post
“An engaging, quirky fantasy.” – Heat
“A wondrous read.” – Stylist
“Logan is an ambitious young writer who has enthusiastically assumed the role of a storyteller. Some passages in the novel are outstanding, illustrating a sensitive feel for the ocean and the taut suspense of high-wire circus acts. She also has a knack for conveying buried tension.” – The Herald
“A very beautiful, very gentle, relaxed and rather lyrical novel.” – Cathy Rentzenbrink, Monocle Arts
“The Gracekeepers is a brilliant novel, remarkably executed and an absolute joy to read. Kirsty Logan renders the personal and political struggles of this story with skill, imbuing even the smallest details with beauty and wisdom. Dive in, and let this tale carry you out to sea.” – Lambda Literary
“This is truly an extraordinary novel, already gaining comparisons to the work of Margaret Atwood and Jeanette Winterson. This has a delightful fantasy quality in the mould of The Snow Child or The Night Circus. Memorable and captivating.”– Red
“A lyrical and moving fantasy.” – Elle
“This is an absorbing and atmospheric read.” – We Love This Book
“Logan has written, in her own alluring voice, a fairy tale which glitters like sun on the sea.” – Wales Arts Review
“Culling from Scottish fairytales, Logan paints a hauntingly beautiful portrait of a world imbued with both myth and eerie realness.” – Bustle
“The Gracekeepers blends fairy tale and environmental apocalypse into a moody and arresting tale of loss, myth, and new beginnings.” – Library Journal
“The circus, the exploration of gender and outward appearance and the touches of magic realism allow for easy comparisons with the work of Angela Carter. Ideas about climate change and the hint of dystopia lead to a mention of Margaret Atwood. But The Gracekeepers is more that the sum of those two writers; Kirsty Logan is a talent of her own, a very special writer indeed and I love spending time in the worlds she creates. I can’t wait to see where she’ll take me next.” – The Writes of Woman
“Logan had me from the first page with her gorgeous use of language.” – A Life in Books
“The Gracekeepers is a seemingly impossible combination of the lyrical and the gritty, the magical and the brutal. In haunting prose Kirsty Logan has woven a compelling, emotionally dense fairytale that kept me enthralled ‘til the last page.” – Tamar Cohen
“This is an utterly incredible book. World-building par excellence teamed with beautifully-crafted prose, and all done with a breathtaking deftness of touch. I finished it feeling totally in awe.” – Nicci Cloke
“Incredibly different and gorgeous…The Gracekeepers handles isolation, literal or when surrounded by others, family and, simply, life – surrounded by the sea and the circus.” – Heather McDaid
“Thank you for filling my head with beautiful, strange, heart-tugging imagery. I feel as though I’ve just found the perfect bit of sea glass on the beach, and it’s still warm from the sun.” – Jill Sweeney-Bosa, Water Street Bookstore
“The cross of Scottish myths, fairy tales and magical realism was so well done, I don’t think I can put into words how captivated I was. I read the book in one sitting, I couldn’t put it down!” – Teresa Steele, Old Firehouse Books