Details:
- author: Brother & Sister Enter the Forest
- full title: Richard Mirabella
- narrator: Eve Passeltiner
- genre: literary fiction
- topics: #comingofage, #family, #lgbt, #trauma
- publisher: Dreamscape Media
- publish date: 18 Apr 2023
- timing: 07:51:00
My Rating of the Audiobook:
- content: 💙💙💙💙
- narration: 💙💙💙💙
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| Goodreads |
Excerpt from the Book:
But it had been too long, and she didn't know him anymore. She wanted to be happy and free of his pain. He would find someone else if she never answered. She put on her robe and stood in front of the refrigerator and ate almost an entire bag of cherries, leaving behind bloody pits. Afterward, she closed herself in the workroom and sat at her desk while her stomach decided what it wanted to do with all that cherry meat.
My Thoughts:
Willa and Justin are siblings, but they are not close. Events from their youth still affect their relationship.
One day Justin appears at Willa’s doorstep and expects she will take him in, and Willa doesn’t like that. The plot jumps from present to past and reveals what happened to Justin and why their relationship is this way. I sometimes didn’t like Willa and her behavior toward Justin. But as the story progresses, we learn why she behaves the way she does.
I liked the analogy with Hansel & Gretel (Brothers Grimm fairytale), as they, in the story, are like brother and sister that once entered the forest, and dark things awaited them there. But this is not a fairytale. It’s a very realistic and dark story that deals with trauma.
I liked the novel, but I expected a bit more to make this story really great.
The narration was good, but maybe I would expect a male narrator. Because I take this as a story of Justin (and not Willa).
About the Author:
Richard Mirabella is the author of the forthcoming novel, Brother & Sister Enter the Forest, which will be released on MARCH 14, 2023.
His writing has appeared in American Short Fiction, Story Magazine, Split Lip Magazine, wigleaf, and elsewhere.
He lives in Upstate New York, where he is also a civil servant.
About the Narrator:
Eve tells stories of rebel women with heart, smarts, (and sarcasm). Part of Audie & IAA nominated productions, she has performed on stage in NYC and New England. Eve grew up on the west side of Manhattan. Now she calls Montana home. The West, in any form, is in her blood.
