Book Review: Terrace Story by Hilary Leichter

About the Book

Annie, Edward, and their young daughter, Rose, live in a cramped apartment. One night, without warning, they find a beautiful terrace hidden in their closet. It wasn’t there before, and it seems to only appear when their friend Stephanie visits. A city dweller’s dream come true! But every extra bit of space has a hidden cost, and the terrace sets off a seismic chain of events, forever changing the shape of their tiny home, and the shape of the world.

Based on the National Magazine Award–winning story, Hilary Leichter’s profound second novel asks how we nurture love when death looms over every moment. From one of our most innovative and daring writers, Terrace Story is an astounding meditation on loss, a reverie about extinction, and a map for where to go next.

My Review

Oh my goodness, but I absolutely loved this! I’m not generally a fan of the short story, although I love it when authors interconnect them as Leichter has done here.

The characters were phenomenal and extremely well crafted, especially considering the short story format in which they are all presented. The build across stories was excellent and really allowed the depth and breadth that is not usually present in the shorter format.

And the writing – oh my goodness, the writing! The language is evocative and descriptive and magical and works perfectly for both the format and the content of these stories.

This is an author I will definitely be watching…