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The faceless old woman who secretly lives in your home : a welcome to Night Vale novel / Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor.

By: Material type: TextTextSeries: Fink, Joseph Welcome to Night Vale episodes ; Publisher: New York : Harper Perennial, [2020]Edition: First editionDescription: 365 pages ; 24 cmISBN:
  • 9780062889003 (hardcover) :
  • 0062889001 (hardcover)
Subject(s): Genre/Form: Summary: "In the town of Night Vale, there's a faceless old woman who secretly lives in everyone's home, but no one knows how she got there or where she came from... until now. Told in a series of eerie flashbacks, the story of The Faceless Old Woman goes back centuries to reveal an initially blissful and then tragic childhood on a Mediterranean Estate in the early nineteenth century, her rise in the criminal underworld of Europe, a nautical adventure with a mysterious organization of smugglers, her plot for revenge on the ones who betrayed her, and ultimately her death and its aftermath, as her spirit travels the world for decades until settling in modern-day Night Vale. Interspersed throughout is a present-day story in Night Vale, as The Faceless Old Woman guides, haunts, and sabotages a man named Craig. In the end, her current day dealings with Craig and her swashbuckling history in nineteenth century Europe will come together in the most unexpected and horrifying way" --Provided by publisher.
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Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Shelving location Call number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Phillipsburg Free Public Library Adult Fiction Adult Fiction FIC FINK Available 36748002470674
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"A chilling ghost story. . . . A decades long, globe-spanning saga of adventure, betrayal, love, and fate [about] one of Welcome to Night Vale's most enigmatic and terrifying characters. . . How these stories converge and how the narrator becomes immortal are merciless in their ingenuity and immensely satisfying. . . . A funny, terrifying, and unpredictable slice of Night Vale's macabre history." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

From the New York Times bestselling authors of Welcome to Night Vale and It Devours! and the creators of the hit podcast, comes a haunting novel set in the world of Night Vale and beyond.

In the town of Night Vale, there's a faceless old woman who secretly lives in everyone's home, but no one knows how she got there or where she came from...until now. Told in a series of eerie flashbacks, the story of The Faceless Old Woman goes back centuries to reveal an initially blissful and then tragic childhood on a Mediterranean Estate in the early nineteenth century, her rise in the criminal underworld of Europe, a nautical adventure with a mysterious organization of smugglers, her plot for revenge on the ones who betrayed her, and ultimately her death and its aftermath, as her spirit travels the world for decades until settling in modern-day Night Vale.

Interspersed throughout is a present-day story in Night Vale, as The Faceless Old Woman guides, haunts, and sabotages a man named Craig. In the end, her current day dealings with Craig and her swashbuckling history in nineteenth century Europe will come together in the most unexpected and horrifying way.

Part The Haunting of Hill House, part The Count of Monte Cristo, The Faceless Old Woman Who Lives in Your Home is a lively tale of loyalty, betrayal, and revenge, that will have you looking around the corners of your own home...just in case.

"In the town of Night Vale, there's a faceless old woman who secretly lives in everyone's home, but no one knows how she got there or where she came from... until now. Told in a series of eerie flashbacks, the story of The Faceless Old Woman goes back centuries to reveal an initially blissful and then tragic childhood on a Mediterranean Estate in the early nineteenth century, her rise in the criminal underworld of Europe, a nautical adventure with a mysterious organization of smugglers, her plot for revenge on the ones who betrayed her, and ultimately her death and its aftermath, as her spirit travels the world for decades until settling in modern-day Night Vale. Interspersed throughout is a present-day story in Night Vale, as The Faceless Old Woman guides, haunts, and sabotages a man named Craig. In the end, her current day dealings with Craig and her swashbuckling history in nineteenth century Europe will come together in the most unexpected and horrifying way" --Provided by publisher.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

The eerie, enchanting third Welcome to Night Vale novel (after It Devours!) offers up a Shakespearian revenge drama that doubles as the origin story of one of Night Vale's most mysterious residents. Born in 1792, the nameless protagonist grows up with her father on their Mediterranean estate until a tragic encounter with the enigmatic Order of the Labyrinth leaves her an orphan. She dedicates her life to a long-con revenge plot, infiltrating the Order's ranks to bring them down from within. As years pass, she grows impatient, leading her to accidentally stumble upon a vast conspiracy with herself at its center. Scenes set in present-day Night Vale, where the protagonist haunts residents' homes, are interspersed throughout this swashbuckling adventure. With this tightly plotted adventure, Fink and Cranor successfully expand their universe beyond Night Vale's desert setting. The protagonist's matter-of-fact descriptions of the strange and horrible, meanwhile, will draw in readers. Newcomers need not be familiar with the Night Vale podcast to enjoy this standout tale. Agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House. (Mar.)

Booklist Review

The recent Night Vale novel reveals the past of the beloved and omnipresent character of the title, chronicling her childhood on the Mediterranean and the tragedies that threw her into a swashbuckling adulthood. The Faceless Old Woman's many adventures as she leads a band of thieves on an attempt to penetrate the mysterious Order of the Labyrinth leads to plots within plots and a final betrayal that will leave her to drift across the sea. Split between segments of her remembered life in the nineteenth century and brief observations from the 2010s of a man named Craig, the narrative weaves together the past, present, and future. As the book builds to her eventual transformation, her storied past and her determined interest in Craig's life become increasingly intertwined. While obviously of most interest to established fans of the Welcome to Night Vale podcast and its cast of characters, the distinctly spare and precise weirdness of Fink and Cranor's writing (It Devours!, 2017) will please even readers completely unfamiliar with the sinister town and its long-running radio show.

Kirkus Book Review

One of Welcome to Night Vale's most enigmatic and terrifying characters reveals how she came to be.The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home is one of the outlandish podcast's most popular characters, partially due to writer/actress Mara Wilson's evocative portrayal. In Night Vale, the character is a specter of sorts, visible only in glimpses, who takes great fun in toying with the town's citizenry, living in all their homes simultaneously. Here, Fink and Cranor (It Devours!, 2017, etc.) diverge from the style of their previous books to craft a chilling ghost story. The book alternates between two timelines. The first concerns the life, death, and afterlife of the unnamed narrator, born in the Mediterranean in 1792 to an idyllic childhood with her beloved father. When her father is murdered by a covert criminal ring called The Order of the Labyrinth, she swears revenge and is recruited into a life of crime by her Uncle Edmond, a ruthless outlaw. What follows is a decadeslong, globe-spanning saga of adventure, betrayal, love, and fate as she becomes the swashbuckling captain of her own pirate ship, with a crew that includes a master of disguise, a bloodthirsty neophyte, a rakish comrade, and a giantess, among others. Robberies, schemes, battles, treachery, and a vicious conspiracy to destroy a rival ensue. In the storyline set in the present, the old woman adopts Craig, a struggling copywriter, as her pet project. While she does leave him the occasional dismembered animal to keep him in line, she also pays off his debts and steers him toward his wife-to-be, Amaranta, and a heavenly life to comeperhaps. How these stories converge and how the narrator becomes immortal are merciless in their ingenuity and immensely satisfying. As the Old Woman tells Craig, "There's a thin line separating humor and horror, and this was that line."A funny, terrifying, and unpredictable slice of Night Vale's macabre history. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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