Réveil

...and The Old One at the Edge of the World
by

Gail Straub and illustrated by Carol Zaloom
To read Réveil is to take a mythical journey, to face one’s own Réveil like tendencies, and to be carried through the alchemical chambers of the wise and fantastical creatures who fill this story. It is to be transported on a visual extravaganza by Carol Zaloom’s absolutely riveting and stunning illustrations.

— J.M., Durham, N. C.

Once upon a time in a noisy modern city, a young woman named Réveil felt empty though she was always too full. So busy was she doing important tasks that she failed to notice the quieter things, such as the fact that her soul was dying. Réveil blogged, texted, tweeted, and tagged to stay connected, but she felt separate.  No matter how much she consumed or how heavy with information she became, she was always hungry.  An empty ghost inside her sleek black suit, Réveil was sleepwalking through her harried life.  Even her dreams had gone to sleep.  Réveil had forgotten the meaning of her very own name:  Alarm! Wake Up!

But one night, on the full moon when the wolves run together, her dreams finally awake and sound the alarm, catapulting Réveil into a new world she could not have imagined from the confines of her previous life.  Aided by a series of mysterious guides, it is here, on the distant island of Neige, that Réveil embarks on a grand quest, a quest that ultimately brings her face to face with the fierce and merciless Grandmother LesDeux.  The old one who shifts between form and formless and holds the two sides of everything – including the key to Réveil’s survival along with the survival of her world.

 

     

Praise

Gail Straub’s writing is luscious and vivid. My imagination was immediately captivated by the magical tale, the dramatic story build-up, and the compact wisdom of the deep feminine. And my Jungian roots had a field day with the alchemical characters, most especially Grandmother LesDeux, a masterful rendering of the hag with all her potent wisdom.
E.W., Boston, Ma. 
Gail Straub has written a terrific fairy tale with serious and illuminating perils alongside sweet and engaging characters. Réveil herself is a modern every person, living her struggle as she is forced by life to confront tough truths. But the apex of this story is the old one at the edge of the world, Grandmother LesDeux, the unforgettable Volcano Woman. Wolf mouth and wild hair, in her robe of opposites the old one holds the two sides of everything. She embodies the fierce compassion of the Hindu Goddess Tara while being as wild and unpredictable as the Slavic Baba Yaga. Lucky Réveil to end up with Volcano Woman to lead her through the trials of her heroine’s journey. Lucky for us all to have a new archetype to consider for guidance.
N.L. New York, NY
Réveil is a truly magnificent fairy tale that insists we wake up in the most enticing way while paying homage to the deep feminine.  Gail Straub displays a genius for archetypal story telling.  Riveting and gorgeous!
 S. C., Lenox, Ma.

Purchase

Réveil ...and The Old One at the Edge of the World

$32

Cover
Pages

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Hardcover
40

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