The Night Field

by Donna Glee Williams

Overview

A magnificent, moving ecological fable: welcome to The Real, where Pyn-Poi's people live in harmony with nature - until a brown fog threatens their whole world.

Pyn-Poi's mother Marak wants her to grow up to be the matriarch of the tribe, learning how to cook, to make medicines, how to care for everyone, but Pyn-Poi would rather be out among the trees like her father Sook-Sook, learning how persuade tree roots into bridges, to feel when shoots are too crowded, when drooping leaves need attention.

Then something starts going wrong in The Real: when the rains come, instead of nourishment, they bring a stinking brown fog that's poisoning people and plants alike. Pyn-Poi is the treewoman now: it's her job. Their only chance is for her to climb to the land beyond the Wall, where the Ancestors live, to plead for their intercession.

Pyn-Poi never expected to find a whole new world up there, with people who are very different from her own family and friends - a land where they are killing nature, and that's killing The Real.

The trees have a job for Pyn-Poi, and to succeed, she is going to have to be brave and strong and true - no matter what.

​"A moving ecological fable, written with her signature grace and compassion" -Elaine Isaak, author of The Singer's Legacy

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781529422672
Publisher:	Mobius
Publication date:	07/25/2023
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	1,125,649
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 9.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Pushcart Prize-nominee Donna Glee Williams was born in Mexico, the daughter a Kentucky farm-girl and a Texas large-animal vet. She graduated from Tulane University, then earned an MFA and Ph.D. from Louisiana State University. Her years of wayfaring across twenty countries and four continents include a Fulbright Fellowship to study pesticide issues among small cotton farmers in India, which is where she found the inspiration for The Night Field. She's worked as turnabout crew on a schooner, librarian, environmental activist, registered nurse, educator, editor and creative coach, as well as writing two fantasy novels, The Braided Path and Dreamers, as well as poetry and nonfiction. She lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. 

Editorial Reviews

"The Night Field moves with a fable-like quality; lyrical and sombre and at times even harrowing, as it unfolds its tale of a tribe in harmony with nature, and their struggles against man-made ecological disaster. The heroine is brave and visionary and her journey heart-rending, the writing is engrossing and the story is a well-judged blend of magical-realism, gritty survival and the courage of the oppressed."—David Hair, author of Mage's Blood

“In her latest novel, The Night Field, Donna Glee Williams gives body and weight to a dark magical dream of a narrative, a novel that is as engaging as it is heartbreaking, that is at times nightmarish yet for all its pain and suffering is woven together with the tensile strength of hope.”
 —Tommy Hays, smliv.com

‘One of those novels which just sings in your ears. A joyous and harrowing read, it carried me through the night, page after beautiful page.’ 

—Helen Marshall, author of The Migration

‘A beguiling, ecologically holistic dreamscape - Donna Glee Williams's gracefully drawn cast present an uncomfortably real and distinctive reflection on the tragedies that blight the modern age’ 

—Mark Charan Newton, author of The Reef

‘A moving ecological fable, written with Williams’ signature grace and compassion. The Night Field weaves wonder, loss and renewal into a narrative that resonates with the past at the same time that it suggests fertile ground for a new future. Highly recommended!’ 

—Elaine Isaak, author of The Singer’s Legacy

‘Donna Glee Williams' simple, beautiful prose transports us to a Sylvain wonderland with woven bridges, mysterious currents, magical flora and more familial love and conflict than most mainstream novels. When the child Pyn-Poi led me into in Williams' word-forest, I did not want to leave’ 

—Scott T. Barnes, Writers of the Future winner and editor of NewMyths magazine

‘With lyrical prose, Williams delivers her finest performance yet. Her masterful storytelling unearths depth and color in subtle nuance. The characters are real and believable, and their journey will stick with you for many years to come’ 

—Karen Lacey, The Uncommon Octopus

‘A beautifully written, poetic book that showcases resilience on many levels. . . Donna Glee Williams weaves a story that mirrors our own society's capacity to take brutal advantage of the natural world that supports us, but also gives us hope that it doesn't have to be this way - through the efforts and energies of young people’ 

—SUSAN SACHS, climate education mentor, including Earth-to-Sky (NASA, NPS & USFWS)

‘A great piece of magical fantasy’ 

—SF Book Reviews

‘A parable of change and balance, Glee's people feel real, especially her children who are authentic and compelling, with a sturdy protagonist who hooks you instantly’ 

—Maureen McHugh

From the Publisher