{"product_id":"life-cycle-of-a-moth-by-rowe-irvin-9781837262489","title":"Life Cycle of a Moth","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLONGLISTED FOR THE AUTHORS' CLUB BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2026\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAN \u003ci\u003eOBSERVER\u003c\/i\u003e BEST DEBUT OF 2025\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Astonishing'\u003c\/strong\u003e — LUCY ROSE\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Biting and rich'\u003c\/strong\u003e — MOLLY AITKEN\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Unforgettable'\u003c\/strong\u003e — \u003ci\u003eOBSERVER\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'A novel of rare power'\u003c\/strong\u003e — GABRIELLE GRIFFITHS\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMyma, do you hear it? Myma, do you hear? Myma?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMaya 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOne 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Muscular, moving and muddy, \u003ci\u003eLife Cycle of a Moth\u003c\/i\u003e 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\" — \u003cstrong\u003eLUCY ROSE\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ci\u003eTHE LAMB\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"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\" ― \u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eObserver\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"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. \u003ci\u003eLife Cycle of a Moth\u003c\/i\u003e 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\" — \u003cstrong\u003eELLEN PEIRSON-HAGGER ― \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"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\" — \u003cstrong\u003eSARA BAUME\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"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. \u003ci\u003eLife Cycle of a Moth\u003c\/i\u003e occupies mythic territory (think Ted Hughes, Jim Crace, Alan Garner) and fills it with rough, poignant tenderness\" — \u003cstrong\u003eMARINA WARNER\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48147430539500,"sku":"9781837262489","price":27.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781837262489-life-cycle-of-a-moth.jpg?v=1786449314","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/life-cycle-of-a-moth-by-rowe-irvin-9781837262489","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}