A scorching ghost story. . . . This dark allegory will linger in readers' minds.-- "Publishers Weekly"

A vicious, beautiful piece of work that will cling to you like a ghost.-- "Den of Geeks"

This gorgeous book will enthrall you like a spell that you cannot nor will you wish to escape. An extraordinary, hallucinatory accomplishment.--Karen Joy Fowler, author of Booth

A modern fable masterpiece.-- "Chicago Review of Books, A Most Anticipated Book of 2025"

Haunting. . . . simmers with dark enchantment and Gothic menace. . . The language is atmospheric and surprising. . . . the characters are inventive in chronicling nested fairy tales and unsettling metamorphoses-- "Foreword Reviews, Starred Review"

Atmospheric. . . . a Bluebeard's Wife-esque fairy tale horror that questions monstrosity, masculinity, romance, and power.... deeply affecting and unsettling.-- "Reactor, A Most Anticipated SFF Book of 2025"

Wholly original and really gorgeous.-- "Polygon"

Haunting and unforgettable.-- "READJUMPSCARES"

A folktale, a whisper, and a dream all at once, Theodoridou's debut is beautifully told in rhythmic, singing prose. Sour Cherry is unforgettable?one of my absolute favorites of the year.--Rory Power, New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls

If you love Kelly Link, Angela Carter, and Carmen Maria Machado, then Natalia Theodoridou is your new favorite author. Sour Cherry is a hell of an impressive debut. Subversive, haunting, fantastical but all too real and relevant.--Benjamin Percy, author of The Ninth Metal

A diamondwork, a treasure chest filled with objects from another world but made familiar to any reader. Only a standout, talented writer can pull this off. Sour Cherry is a remarkable novel, and one I will never forget.--Morgan Talty, bestselling author of Night of the Living Rez and Fire ExitMorgan Talty, bestselling author of Night of the Living Rez and Fire Exit

A Bluebeard retelling of profound beauty and wisdom, Sour Cherry shows us how abuse traps people in stories that help them excuse it?but also survive. Theodoridou is a novelist with a poet's ear and a playwright's nose for irony. His prose is lyric, yet exquisitely controlled: every word feels necessary and inevitable. Like Angela Carter, he uses fairy tale to trace the dark undercurrents of human desire. But Sour Cherry transcends the form of the fairy tale retelling. It moves like a dance, resonates like a chorus; you wake from it as from a dream. Read it and be changed.--B. Pladek, author of Dry Land

Captivating from the first page to the last, Sour Cherry is a haunting novel that weighs in with Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, The Turn of the Screw and the very best of Angela Carter--but Theodoridou writes with a magnetic strangeness that is all his own. Not many can pull off what he has, bringing new blood to folktale archetypes, blending mystery with a burgeoning, inevitable dread. Heartbreaking and tender, Sour Cherry is a dark delight. It's so damn good I'm already looking forward to reading it again.--Natasha Calder, author of Whether Violent or Natural

Publisher: Tin House Books

Pub date: 2025-04-01

Length: 312 pages