They Call the Place Wild

By Rae Mariz

Richard Powers' The Overstory meets the Brothers Grimm and Slavic folklore in this lush dark fantasy about the stories we're told and the stories we make for ourselves.

Two young Belarusian sisters live near the Bialowieza Forest, the last of Europe's great primeval forests. Dasha is the shadow sister: dark in nature and demeanor, unlovable to all but her sister Natalya, who she will follow anywhere

So when Natalya is taken away across the forest, Dasha does what she has always done: she follows.

However, on her way she meets the folk, whose tales were once told across Europe. Displaced and sequestered in the shrinking forest, their stories are becoming distorted. Dasha must leave to rescue Natalya, but a strange force refuses to let her go, reweaving her into a longer story of the world and stealing her inner voice. The only way out is to reclaim her lost voice and forge her own story.

They Call the Place Wild is a tale that spirals outward, growing like rings on a tree and rippling with shadow and light. It is a love letter to refugees, the natural world and folklore.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1955765588
• ISBN13: 9781955765589
• Release Date: February 2027
• Publisher: Violet Lichen
• Length: 180 Pages
• Dimensions: 5.5" x 8.5"