Synopsis
LONGLISTED FOR THE AUTHORS' CLUB BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2026
AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT OF 2025
'Astonishing' LUCY ROSE
'Biting and rich' MOLLY AITKEN
'Unforgettable' OBSERVER
'A novel of rare power' GABRIELLE GRIFFITHS
Myma, do you hear it? Myma, do you hear? Myma?
Maya and Daughter live in complete isolation in a secluded woodland, their days aligned with the light and changing seasons, a complex pattern of routine and ritual.
One day, when Daughter is almost sixteen, a red-haired stranger steps into the confines of their territory. Where there was always two, suddenly there are three - and the carefully constructed world that Maya has built to keep her daughter safe may not survive it.
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About the Author
Rowe Irvin is a writer and artist. In 2025 she was named one of the Observer's Best New Novelists. She has a PhD in Creative Writing and her work has appeared in Prototype, Southword and the Stinging Fly. Life Cycle of a Moth is her first book.
@bog__daughter
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Life Cycle of a Moth (Paperback)
Published by
Canongate Books, Edinburgh, 2026
ISBN 10: 1837262489
ISBN 13: 9781837262489
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Seller: Grand Eagle Retail, Bensenville, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. LONGLISTED FOR THE AUTHORS' CLUB BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2026AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT OF 2025 'Astonishing' LUCY ROSE'Biting and rich' MOLLY AITKEN'Unforgettable' OBSERVER'A novel of rare power' GABRIELLE GRIFFITHS Myma, do you hear it? Myma, do you hear? Myma?Maya and Daughter live in complete isolation in a secluded woodland, their days aligned with the light and changing seasons, a complex pattern of routine and ritual.One day, when Daughter is almost sixteen, a red-haired stranger steps into the confines of their territory. Where there was always two, suddenly there are three - and the carefully constructed world that Maya has built to keep her daughter safe may not survive it."Muscular, moving and muddy, Life Cycle of a Moth is an unflinching woodland fable you cannot miss. It's astonishing and stirring; a debut novel tenderly cadenced and alchemical, and I'm still reeling from turning its final pages. Rowe Irvin is a born storyteller" -- LUCY ROSE, author of THE LAMB"Unforgettable . . . Wonderfully linguistically playful . . . A book that expertly balances light and dark, childish play and the most adult of terrors . . . [Irvin's] uninhibited, guttural voice carries this magical realist folk fairy-tale, with a little of Max Porter in Irvin's playful, primal prose . . . A masterful, murky and fierce debut" Observer"Tender [and] captivating . . . In impish yet tender style, Irvin thoughtfully explores what it means for a mother to care for a daughter in a world where male violence is everywhere. Life Cycle of a Moth is the very best kind of fiction: with the book open, you feel utterly transported; once you close it, you see how cunningly it holds a mirror up to reality. I can't wait to read whatever Irvin writes next" -- ELLEN PEIRSON-HAGGER Guardian"A beautiful debut. It's rare that a novel feels so much like a little world to escape into, albeit at times a very bleak one, but everything here was so thoroughly and tenderly well-realised, the sense of ceremony and indoctrination, the details of nature. An allegory about the fragile times we live in and the terrible challenges of protecting our way of life and the creatures we love" -- SARA BAUME"With unsparing, imaginative intensity, Rowe Irvin has hewn out of the bedrock of a harsh, non-Latinate lexicon a ferocious drama of damage and isolation, of a mother's ruthless passion and domination of her daughter. Life Cycle of a Moth occupies mythic territory (think Ted Hughes, Jim Crace, Alan Garner) and fills it with rough, poignant tenderness" -- MARINA WARNER A visceral, bold and devastating debut novel exploring male violence and maternal love, and what it means to create a space of refuge. AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT OF 2025 Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781837262489
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Paperback. Condition: New. Main. LONGLISTED FOR THE AUTHORS' CLUB BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2026AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT OF 2025 'Astonishing' LUCY ROSE'Biting and rich' MOLLY AITKEN'Unforgettable' OBSERVER'A novel of rare power' GABRIELLE GRIFFITHS Myma, do you hear it? Myma, do you hear? Myma?Maya and Daughter live in complete isolation in a secluded woodland, their days aligned with the light and changing seasons, a complex pattern of routine and ritual.One day, when Daughter is almost sixteen, a red-haired stranger steps into the confines of their territory. Where there was always two, suddenly there are three - and the carefully constructed world that Maya has built to keep her daughter safe may not survive it. Seller Inventory # LU-9781837262489
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Life Cycle of a Moth (Paperback)
Published by
Canongate Books, Edinburgh, 2026
ISBN 10: 1837262489
ISBN 13: 9781837262489
New
Paperback
Seller: CitiRetail, Stevenage, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. LONGLISTED FOR THE AUTHORS' CLUB BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2026AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT OF 2025 'Astonishing' LUCY ROSE'Biting and rich' MOLLY AITKEN'Unforgettable' OBSERVER'A novel of rare power' GABRIELLE GRIFFITHS Myma, do you hear it? Myma, do you hear? Myma?Maya and Daughter live in complete isolation in a secluded woodland, their days aligned with the light and changing seasons, a complex pattern of routine and ritual.One day, when Daughter is almost sixteen, a red-haired stranger steps into the confines of their territory. Where there was always two, suddenly there are three - and the carefully constructed world that Maya has built to keep her daughter safe may not survive it."Muscular, moving and muddy, Life Cycle of a Moth is an unflinching woodland fable you cannot miss. It's astonishing and stirring; a debut novel tenderly cadenced and alchemical, and I'm still reeling from turning its final pages. Rowe Irvin is a born storyteller" -- LUCY ROSE, author of THE LAMB"Unforgettable . . . Wonderfully linguistically playful . . . A book that expertly balances light and dark, childish play and the most adult of terrors . . . [Irvin's] uninhibited, guttural voice carries this magical realist folk fairy-tale, with a little of Max Porter in Irvin's playful, primal prose . . . A masterful, murky and fierce debut" Observer"Tender [and] captivating . . . In impish yet tender style, Irvin thoughtfully explores what it means for a mother to care for a daughter in a world where male violence is everywhere. Life Cycle of a Moth is the very best kind of fiction: with the book open, you feel utterly transported; once you close it, you see how cunningly it holds a mirror up to reality. I can't wait to read whatever Irvin writes next" -- ELLEN PEIRSON-HAGGER Guardian"A beautiful debut. It's rare that a novel feels so much like a little world to escape into, albeit at times a very bleak one, but everything here was so thoroughly and tenderly well-realised, the sense of ceremony and indoctrination, the details of nature. An allegory about the fragile times we live in and the terrible challenges of protecting our way of life and the creatures we love" -- SARA BAUME"With unsparing, imaginative intensity, Rowe Irvin has hewn out of the bedrock of a harsh, non-Latinate lexicon a ferocious drama of damage and isolation, of a mother's ruthless passion and domination of her daughter. Life Cycle of a Moth occupies mythic territory (think Ted Hughes, Jim Crace, Alan Garner) and fills it with rough, poignant tenderness" -- MARINA WARNER A visceral, bold and devastating debut novel exploring male violence and maternal love, and what it means to create a space of refuge. AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT OF 2025 Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781837262489
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Life Cycle of a Moth (Paperback)
Published by
Canongate Books, Edinburgh, 2026
ISBN 10: 1837262489
ISBN 13: 9781837262489
New
Paperback
Seller: AussieBookSeller, Truganina, VIC, Australia
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. LONGLISTED FOR THE AUTHORS' CLUB BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2026AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT OF 2025 'Astonishing' LUCY ROSE'Biting and rich' MOLLY AITKEN'Unforgettable' OBSERVER'A novel of rare power' GABRIELLE GRIFFITHS Myma, do you hear it? Myma, do you hear? Myma?Maya and Daughter live in complete isolation in a secluded woodland, their days aligned with the light and changing seasons, a complex pattern of routine and ritual.One day, when Daughter is almost sixteen, a red-haired stranger steps into the confines of their territory. Where there was always two, suddenly there are three - and the carefully constructed world that Maya has built to keep her daughter safe may not survive it."Muscular, moving and muddy, Life Cycle of a Moth is an unflinching woodland fable you cannot miss. It's astonishing and stirring; a debut novel tenderly cadenced and alchemical, and I'm still reeling from turning its final pages. Rowe Irvin is a born storyteller" -- LUCY ROSE, author of THE LAMB"Unforgettable . . . Wonderfully linguistically playful . . . A book that expertly balances light and dark, childish play and the most adult of terrors . . . [Irvin's] uninhibited, guttural voice carries this magical realist folk fairy-tale, with a little of Max Porter in Irvin's playful, primal prose . . . A masterful, murky and fierce debut" Observer"Tender [and] captivating . . . In impish yet tender style, Irvin thoughtfully explores what it means for a mother to care for a daughter in a world where male violence is everywhere. Life Cycle of a Moth is the very best kind of fiction: with the book open, you feel utterly transported; once you close it, you see how cunningly it holds a mirror up to reality. I can't wait to read whatever Irvin writes next" -- ELLEN PEIRSON-HAGGER Guardian"A beautiful debut. It's rare that a novel feels so much like a little world to escape into, albeit at times a very bleak one, but everything here was so thoroughly and tenderly well-realised, the sense of ceremony and indoctrination, the details of nature. An allegory about the fragile times we live in and the terrible challenges of protecting our way of life and the creatures we love" -- SARA BAUME"With unsparing, imaginative intensity, Rowe Irvin has hewn out of the bedrock of a harsh, non-Latinate lexicon a ferocious drama of damage and isolation, of a mother's ruthless passion and domination of her daughter. Life Cycle of a Moth occupies mythic territory (think Ted Hughes, Jim Crace, Alan Garner) and fills it with rough, poignant tenderness" -- MARINA WARNER A visceral, bold and devastating debut novel exploring male violence and maternal love, and what it means to create a space of refuge. AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT OF 2025 Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781837262489
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