Alyson Hagy è una romanziera e scrittrice di racconti la cui opera attinge spesso ai paesaggi rurali e all'atmosfera distintiva del sud degli Stati Uniti. Si concentra sulla rappresentazione delle relazioni umane e della vita interiore dei personaggi all'interno di questi contesti. La prosa di Hagy è caratterizzata da un linguaggio poetico e da una profonda comprensione dei suoi protagonisti.
Set against the backdrop of Kentucky's Keeneland racetrack, this novel explores the intertwining lives of people who gamble on both horses and love. With themes of ambition, risk, and the pursuit of glory, it delves into the emotional stakes involved in the sport of kings, offering a vivid portrayal of the racing world and its impact on human relationships.
"A haunting, evocative tale about the power of storytelling. A brutal civil war has ravaged the country, and contagious fevers have decimated the population. Abandoned farmhouses litter the isolated mountain valleys and shady hollows. The economy has been reduced to barter and trade. In this craggy, unwelcoming world, the central character of Scribe ekes out a lonely living on the family farmstead where she was raised and where her sister met an untimely end. She lets a migrant group known as the Uninvited set up temporary camps on her land, and maintains an uneasy peace with her cagey neighbors and the local enforcer. She has learned how to make paper and ink, and she has become known for her letter-writing skills, which she exchanges for tobacco, firewood, and other scarce resources. An unusual request for a letter from a man with hidden motivations unleashes the ghosts of her troubled past and sets off a series of increasingly calamitous events that culminate in a harrowing journey to a crossroads. Drawing on traditional folktales and the history and culture of Appalachia, Alyson Hagy has crafted a gripping, swiftly plotted novel that touches on pressing issues of our time--migration, pandemic disease, the rise of authoritarianism--and makes a compelling case for the power of stories to both show us the world and transform it."--Provided by publisher.