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by Keith Cohen
In this moving and compelling debut novel told through the life of a young boy, Keith Cohen creates a beautiful and magical story of our relationship to the natural world.
From the time he is a small child, Malach reveals unique and unexplained connections with the animals that inhabit the wilderness surrounding him. As Malach grows, so too does his knowledge of the workings and mysteries of the natural world. His mother, Judith, fearful for him and struggling to understand the gift her son possesses, is determined to protect him at all costs. While grappling with the uncertainty of where Malach's future will lead, Judith must confront her own painful and secretive past.
Approaching adulthood, joined by his brilliant and fiery girlfriend, Ginny, Malach brings a profound awareness of the earth to a world facing a precariously changing climate and existential perils. Together they begin to deliver a message of transformation, sacrifice, and even revolution in how we live our lives. Their story of love, and triumph over loss, is at the heart of this urgent coming-of-age story where time is no longer a luxury.
"Cohen's novel moves at a slow and meditative pace, delivering lush, detailed descriptions of the natural world...At times, this pace adds to the dreamy, prophetic quality of Malach's life...Characters are well realized with relatable feelings and doubts, and when the tale focuses on Malach's relationships with them, the prose echoes with tenderness and pathos." —Kirkus Reviews
"The lush and allegorical novel follows Malach, who has a deep connection to the natural world…Cohen, creates an atmosphere both of urgency and magic, a tale for this precise moment of environmental precipice we find ourselves in. It wakes a reader up to the tightly calibrated, delicate interrelations between all living beings." —Boston Globe
This information about A Season Unknown was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Keith Cohen is a clinical child and adolescent psychologist practicing in Westwood, MA. He lives outside of Boston with his wife. A Season Unknown is his debut novel.
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