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An unnamed narrator arrives at Cambridge University in the early aughts determined to reinvent himself. His northern accent marks him as an outsider, but thanks to his musical gifts, he manages to fall in with his wealthy classmate, Bryn Cavendish.
A charismatic party host and talented magician, Bryn enthralls the narrator. But something seems to happen to those who challenge or simply irk Bryn—and they aren’t ever the same again.
The narrator begins to suspect that Bryn may be concealing terrifying gifts under the guise of magic tricks. As the tension between them grows, a harrowing encounter is followed by Bryn’s death.
Alternating between their time as students and the narrator’s return to Cambridge years later, where he fears the ghosts of his past are waiting for him, And He Shall Appear performs an astounding slight-of-hand that throws every version of the story into question.
This propulsive novel about the dark power of privilege will haunt readers like a familiar piece of music with endless iterations.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
October 1, 2024 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781454952626
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781454952626
- File size: 1670 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from September 15, 2024
The nameless narrator in this unsettling story is a working-class boy from northern England. His dad, an alcoholic who died when the narrator was young, gave his son just one thing: musical talent, which was both a blessing and a curse. A curse because it made him a geeky outcast, and a blessing because it gained him a place to study music at Cambridge. Arriving on campus, he realizes he's still a geeky outcast among his privileged fellow students. Then he meets handsome, charismatic Bryn Cavendish. If only he can enter Bryn's inner circle, he knows he'll finally belong. The pair bond over music, and the narrator is also impressed by Bryn's magic tricks--at least at first. But then he realizes that Bryn's magic can be deadly when he's unhappy or angry. The narrator's life fills with dark omens and terrifying nightmares; then a horrific accident leaves him reeling, affecting him decades after he's left university. Returning years later to Cambridge brings back all the horror, darkness, and feelings of "unbelonging""; he now only wishes "for heights we might have reached. For doors not yet closed. For everything that might have been." An eerie, deeply disturbing tale that is as mesmerizing as it is provocative.COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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