The Story of the Forest

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL FICTION 2023 'Epic and marvellously entertaining... There's a furious energy to the novel, which constantly moves forward even as it looks sorrowfully back' FINANCIAL TIMES 'Magnificent... I want to press a copy on everyone I know' NIGELLA LAWSON 'Epic, magnificent, beautiful... I couldn't put it down' PHILIPPA PERRY 'Jewel-like clarity... exceptional' RICHARD COLES 'Exquisite writing [and] a triumphant, elegant ending' MAIL ON SUNDAY 'An intelligent family saga... ambitious and moving and funny' TESSA HADLEY 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. Orwell Prize for Political Fiction Award Ceremony - 22 June 2023

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL FICTION 2023 'Epic and marvellously entertaining... There's a furious energy to the novel, which constantly moves forward even as it looks sorrowfully back' FINANCIAL TIMES 'Magnificent... I want to press a copy on everyone I know' NIGELLA LAWSON 'Epic, magnificent, beautiful... I couldn't put it down' PHILIPPA PERRY 'Jewel-like clarity... exceptional' RICHARD COLES 'Exquisite writing [and] a triumphant, elegant ending' MAIL ON SUNDAY 'An intelligent family saga... ambitious and moving and funny' TESSA HADLEY 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. Orwell Prize for Political Fiction Award Ceremony - 22 June 2023

Shortlisted for the Orwell Prize - A Parade Best Book of the Year - A Paste Most Anticipated Historical Fiction for Fall "[Sarah Jessica Parker] is curating as a publisher some of the most beautiful novels that I read. And this one, in love with it. Don't miss it." ―Adriana Trigiani, You Are What You Read "Romance, tragedy, war, the horrors of the pogroms, business dynasties, and more make this closely observed novel inspired somewhat by Grant's family story into a page turner." -- Parade It's 1913 when Mina, the young and carefree daughter of a Jewish merchant, roams into a forest on the edge of the Baltic Sea looking for mushrooms. Instead, she encounters a gang of unruly, charismatic Bolsheviks--an adventure that will become the stuff of familial lore for generations to come. Intending to save her from further corruption, and in an act that forever changes the trajectory of their family's life, Mina and her eldest brother, Jossel, board a ship to England. There the threat of a different war looms large. When WWI hits, Jossel is sent to the front, where he keeps a severely wounded soldier in his unit alive 'til morning by telling him tales--including that his sister Mina will marry him if he survives. The soldier lives and asks for Mina's hand, their marriage uniting two growing trade dynasties. But over time Mina and Jossel will learn that not everyone in their family has survived the wars and pogroms, even as they and their offspring struggle to build new lives in Liverpool in the midst of ever-shifting discriminations. Based on the author's own family history and legends, The Story of the Forest is a remarkable record of family lore; a meditation on the power of stories to ground us, particularly in the face of life's inevitable losses, told with a keen wit and a sharp eye to the charms and the foibles of family by masterful British novelist Linda Grant.

Shortlisted for the Orwell Prize - A Parade Best Book of the Year - A Paste Most Anticipated Historical Fiction for Fall "[Sarah Jessica Parker] is curating as a publisher some of the most beautiful novels that I read. And this one, in love with it. Don't miss it." ―Adriana Trigiani, You Are What You Read "Romance, tragedy, war, the horrors of the pogroms, business dynasties, and more make this closely observed novel inspired somewhat by Grant's family story into a page turner." -- Parade It's 1913 when Mina, the young and carefree daughter of a Jewish merchant, roams into a forest on the edge of the Baltic Sea looking for mushrooms. Instead, she encounters a gang of unruly, charismatic Bolsheviks--an adventure that will become the stuff of familial lore for generations to come. Intending to save her from further corruption, and in an act that forever changes the trajectory of their family's life, Mina and her eldest brother, Jossel, board a ship to England. There the threat of a different war looms large. When WWI hits, Jossel is sent to the front, where he keeps a severely wounded soldier in his unit alive 'til morning by telling him tales--including that his sister Mina will marry him if he survives. The soldier lives and asks for Mina's hand, their marriage uniting two growing trade dynasties. But over time Mina and Jossel will learn that not everyone in their family has survived the wars and pogroms, even as they and their offspring struggle to build new lives in Liverpool in the midst of ever-shifting discriminations. Based on the author's own family history and legends, The Story of the Forest is a remarkable record of family lore; a meditation on the power of stories to ground us, particularly in the face of life's inevitable losses, told with a keen wit and a sharp eye to the charms and the foibles of family by masterful British novelist Linda Grant.