Only a few books truly capture the heart and imagination. Gail Anderson-Dargatz's The Cure for Death by Lightning is such a one -- rich, thrilling, classically told, and as filled with beauty and the magic of life as it is with strange deeds and dark fears.

Gail's first novel met with terrific acclaim and was a finalist for the prestigious Giller Prize.

This international bestseller also won the UK’s Betty Trask Award, the BC Book Prize for Fiction and the VanCity Book Prize, and was a finalist for the Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award. The novel has been translated into many languages worldwide.

About the book:

The Cure for Death by Lightning takes place against the backdrop of daily life on a farm in remote Turtle Valley, British Columbia, during World War II. Beth Weeks is fifteen years old and lives with her parents and rebellious older brother. Strange things are happening: a classmate of Beth's is mauled to death; children go missing on the nearby reserve; and Beth herself is being hunted by an unseen predator. The valley is home to a host of eccentric but familiar characters -- Nora, a Native girl in whose friendship Beth takes refuge; Filthy Billy, the hired hand who is thought to be possessed; Nora's mother, who has a man's voice and an extra little finger; and Beth's haunted mother, who recipes are laced throughout the novel, providing luscious descriptions of food, gardening, fruit-picking and preserving, and remedies, both practical and bizarre.

To order:

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