City of Ghosts

By Johanna Stoberock

Book Overview

A haunting debut novel that tells of dependence and betrayal among best friends and the man they both love. A sweeping romantic adventure begins when Isabel Grady marries her best friend Anna's lover and follows him halfway around the world to the inhospitable mountains of Nepal. Now, living in a ruined palace, with a husband who disappears for weeks at a time, Isabel struggles to make a new life for herself. But when Isabel learns that a visit from Anna is only months away, suddenly it seems that at every turn her ancient surroundings-and her own past-threaten to crush her hopes for the future. Isabel's new environment mirrors the tensions and passions of her marriage. The dense heat of monsoon, the ruins of a corrupt regime, and the lonely existence of expatriates are vividly rendered in a lyrical, rolling prose that is never hurried but always compelling. City of Ghosts is a poignant and probing study of love and loss and marks the arrival of a fresh and exciting literary voice.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393051722
• ISBN13: 9780393051728
• Release Date: March 2003
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

a compelling story with vivid imagery

I found this book a bit slow at first, but soon I was drawn in as the characters and settings became stunningly real in my mind. I felt like I WAS the protagonist, and "on her trip". I've never been to Kathmandu but when I see images of it I feel like I've been there, thanks to this book.

Better than 99.5% of Oprah's Book Club

This is perhaps the first book I've read that deals with the remnants of loneliness that follow only children into adulthood. I thought it was an excellent book, and I made my roommate read it. She also loved it, and insisted that the author must have been an only child herself to have protrayed those feelings so well. Besides which, the author also shows considerable skill in exploring problematic relationships without demonizing any of the characters.

A captivating story in a beautifully rendered setting

This story immediately draws the reader in, and the book really takes off when it moves from New York to Kathmandu. The author brings Nepal alive, and she also involves the reader in the delicate process of discovering and finding one's place in a new culture. The sometimes joyful and sometimes painful unfurling of a complicated web of relationships is the central element of the book. At the same time, the author does not allow that storyline to drown out the main character's own process of independent self discovery and her increasing involvement in the rich and complicated new country she finds herself in.