SKU: 5892188238

Ghost Stories : A Memoir - 'What a kind, honest book. What a gift of love' David Mitchell

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Ghost Stories : A Memoir - 'What a kind, honest book. What a gift of love' David MitchellAuthor: Siri Hustvedt Diaries, letters & journals Published on 5 May 2026 by Hodder & Stoughton (Sceptre) in the United Kingdom. Hardback 320 pages, N A 200 x 224 x 30 430g The tender memoir of the forty three years Siri Hustvedt spent with her husband, writer, poet and filmmaker Paul Auster from their first encounter in 1980s New York through the highs and lows of love, family and griefOne of the most anticipated books of 2026 for the Guardian,

Author: Siri Hustvedt

Diaries, letters & journals

Published on 5 May 2026 by Hodder & Stoughton (Sceptre) in the United Kingdom.

Hardback | 320 pages, N/A
200 x 224 x 30 | 430g

The tender memoir of the forty-three years Siri Hustvedt spent with her husband, writer, poet and filmmaker Paul Auster - from their first encounter in 1980s New York through the highs and lows of love, family and griefOne of the most anticipated books of 2026 for the Guardian, Observer and BBC Culture'A remarkable achievement' LOUISE KENNEDY'A deeply moving memoir, raw with loss, yet luminous with love' SARAH WATERS'What a kind, honest book. What a gift of love' DAVID MITCHELL'Essential reading from an all-time great' SARA COLLINSGhost Stories is Siri Hustvedt's most personal work yet, a searing and intimate meditation on grief, memory and enduring love, written in the aftermath of the death of her husband, writer, poet and filmmaker Paul Auster.

It is a patchwork-quilt book that stitches together memories from over forty years of love and life together: journal entries Siri wrote between November 2023 and 3 May 2024, the day of Paul's funeral; emails Siri sent to friends during his cancer treatment; notes Paul sent her over the course of their relationship; and three love letters Siri wrote to him in 1981, when he left her for a period of nine or ten days to return to his former life with his first wife and son.

The book also contains Paul Auster's last ever piece of writing - the first thirty-five pages of what he hoped would be a small book of letters to Siri's and his grandson, Miles Auster Hustvedt Ostrander, born on 1 January 2024.

Unflinching, tender and wise, this is the full-bodied story of Siri Hustvedt and Paul Auster's life together, an exploration of how grief unmoors time and how the intimacy of a shared life continues to mark the everyday. A note from Siri'I began writing Ghost Stories shortly after my husband, Paul Auster, died on April 30th 2024. My meditations on Paul's cancer, his death, my grief, the potent feeling I had of his presence on the day he was buried, and my memories from the years we spent together are interwoven with several texts that were written before he died: twelve letters I wrote to friends during his cancer treatment; journal entries I wrote between early November, 2023 and May 3, 2024; and three love letters I wrote to Paul in 1981, when he left me for a period of nine or ten days to return to his former life. Although I knew Paul had saved those letters, I hadn't read them since they were written and had only a foggy recollection of their content. In the last month of his life, Paul began writing what he hoped would be a small book of letters to our grandson, Miles Auster Hustvedt Ostrander, who was born on January 1st, 2024. Paul was too weak to finish it as planned, but the thirty-five pages he did manage to write are interwoven in this book. I want to stress that Paul's text is not an appendix to mine but an integral part of the book as a whole. Because the memoir turns on attachment, betweenness, and dialogue, all crucial to the love affair that lasted forty-three years, the insertion of one author's text into another's, is, in this case, essential to the memoir's overall meaning.'Praise for Siri Hustvedt'Hustvedt is that rare artist, a writer of high intelligence, profound sensuality and a less easily definable capacity for which the only word I can find is wisdom'Salman Rushdie'It is Hustvedt's gift to write with exemplary clarity of what is by necessity unclear'Hilary Mantel'She's a twenty-first-century Virginia Woolf, with many intellectual and creative rooms of her own'Literary Review

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SKU: 5892188238

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4.2 ★★★★★
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Anastasia Goygova
Cuba, US
★★★★★ 4
A Promising Start with a Complex Magic System
“House of Bane and Blood” delivers an engaging enemies-to-lovers romance wrapped in an arranged marriage trope, which was one of the strongest aspects of the book. The dynamic between Nico and Camilla was compelling, making their evolving relationship one of the highlights of the story. The plot itself was interesting and had a lot of potential. However, the complexity of the magic system was a drawback. The abundance of difficult names and terms made it challenging to fully grasp the world-building, leaving some aspects feeling more confusing than immersive. At times, it was hard to keep track of what was happening and who was who. Despite this, the book holds promise as the first installment of the series. With an intriguing setup and strong character chemistry, I’m excited to see where Book 2 takes the story. Hopefully, it will continue to build on its strengths while offering more clarity on its magical elements.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2025
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Julia
Bozeman, US
★★★★★ 5
Outstanding Indie Fantasy! You NEED to read this!
I have started and deleted my intro to my review multiple times at this point. My mind is sufficiently BLOWN. This book has landed itself into my top favorite romantasies right alongside ACOTAR and FBAA. ITS SO DANG GOOD. I literally woke up, popped it open on my kindle app (Thanks author and R&R Book Tours for the arc!) and got to reading and just didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. From the first dang page, Menard dragged my butt in and tied me down. I. Was. HOOKED. Writing Style: I absolutely love the writer’s style! Told from mainly Milla’s POV, with the occasional glance into Nico’s POV when its important. Her world building is rich and immersive, sticking firmly into the steampunk/gas lamp fantasy atmosphere. Her magic system—while feeling familiar—still feels unique and blends beautifully with the world she’s created. Characters: I can’t begin to describe how much I love the characters Menard has created for this story. Milla is a firestorm. She’s passionate, fiesty, loyal, and self confident. She doesn’t back down, no matter the odds. For me, personally, she’s ranking right up there with Feyre (ACOTAR), Poppy (FBAA), and Sera (FBAA prequel) as one of my favorite female leads. Despite her fierceness, she’s not invincible and she’s still vulnerable—which unveils itself more as the story goes on. Nico, mmmmmmmm, Nico. He’s cocky, and strong. His heart is for his blood and family. There’s nothing he won’t do for those he cares for. He’s incredibly insightful which leads to a lot of me squeeing and highlighting his quotes. Pairing him up with Milla is a riot I will watch again and again. The side characters are all phenomenal, ranging wide in personalities and giving the world a richer vibrancy. They compliment both main characters, bringing out the best and worst in them, helping to bring secrets to light and keep the plot going. Not a single character felt out of place, or ever out of character. Relationship: Y’all know I love a good slow burn and this burns so good. The push and pull of their hate/love relationship is a thrill to witness. Watching them fall for each other is a joy and the spice (when we get there) is HAWT. Plot: This story had me hooked, and that’s largely in thanks to how well planned out the story’s plot is. Menard did an excellent job, masterfully balancing her foreshadowing and reveals. While I halfway guessed the big reveal, i definitely did not expect the big reveal. (Read the book, then you’ll understand lmao). The pacing is fantastic. Nothing about the story felt rushed, not the relationship, not the reveals, not the over arching plot line. Just absolutely phenomenal. Enjoyment: 100/10 will read again. I need a physical copy in my life. I HIGHLY recommend this book.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2023
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RavenousRaven
Pawtucket, US
★★★★★ 5
One of the best reading experiences I’ve ever had
Format: Audiobook
This was truly AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!! In every possible way. - the setting. I loved the steampunk/gaslamp setting with trains, overcast weather, and mafia vibes - the magic. I still don’t entirely understand the magic system and descendants as much and it took awhile for me to get my footing in that department- and I am intrigued beyond measure, though it in no way lessened my enjoyment of the story. I just really wish I had a better grasp of it. - the plot itself. Beautiful. The tropes were troping in the absolute best way. Every single thing that happened I was like YES MORE!!! - the writing. I found myself grinning ear to ear uncontrollably during my entire read through and full on choking on my gasps, again, like the entire read through. And I read this too at times when I was in an awful mood so the way this book was an INSTANT pick me up really speaks to how well this was written. I was having the absolute best time, non stop. - the characters. The best part oh my gosh. Camilla is SUCH a badass. Her and Nico are supposed to be low 20s and I gotta tell you they read more like 30s from how capable and mature they are (not that that age bracket is incapable or immature, just comparing them to other characters written in that age range). She is the type of cool as heck character that everyone would be cos-playing as and if it was a kid movie, every single girl would dress as her for Halloween. She’s that awesome. Nico is top freaking tier. I gotta say his hairstyle is my undoing and with the addition of the metal arm- before I even started reading the book I was in love with him. And he was EVEN BETTER than my lofty expectations. This man. Perfect in every single way. Every. Single. Way. If I start now I won’t stop so I’m just gonna leave it at that. Camilla and Nico are power couple of the century though and the way they interacted was the most toe-curling/squealing/kicking your feet banter I’ve read in a while. PLUS the way they fell for each other was a gem. I was falling in love with their relationship right along with them. - a shout out to the side characters too. Aramis, Gideon, Aunt Fran, Esme, Luther, Adler [honestly just insert all the supporting cast they were freaking phenomenal] brought so much life and personality to the story and helped round out Nico and Camilla. I really really really would absolutely adore if Adler got some more spotlight time in the future because he and Aramis are up there with “let’s give these side characters their own spinoffs”. Also, the villains were great too. I love a great villain in a story and sometimes I don’t think they get highlighted as much in books as in movies or TV that I hear of. If it wasn’t obvious already- this was even greater than a 5 star read. This was perfection- in quality and in vibes- and it was one of the most enjoyable reading experiences I have ever had and I’m not throwing that around lightly. I have scenes from this book playing in my mind unbidden on repeat and I know this world has so much more to be explored. I will read anything Alexis L Menard puts out in the future
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Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2025
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Jenny
Massapequa, US
★★★★★ 4
Great mix of maffia and magic
Format: Kindle
This one felt really unique to me, with a great and successful blend of Twenties-feeling maffia and inventive magic. I liked both the main characters a lot, even though I found myself almost shouting at the MFC sometimes. She really should learn not to trust everyone just because they're family! All in all a good read, with lots of romance, yearning and some spice as well.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2025
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Meghan
Lake Worth, US
★★★★★ 3
So close to being good
I really wanted to like this book. It had all the makings of a strong, interesting story, but the plot got so convoluted that it was hard to follow. Also, for a "badass" FMC, Milla was amazingly inept. The writing got really stilted at times too. I will probably still read the next one anyway, because I'm curious to see where the plot goes.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2024

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