The Raising - by Laura Kasischke (Paperback)

About the Book

Haunting, unsettling, and unforgettable, "The Raising" limns love, longing, belonging and the things we only think we know about life--and yes, death. . . it's a literary mystery that's as hypnotic as it is brilliant.--Caroline Leavitt, author of "Pictures of You."

Book Synopsis

"Kasischke's writing does what good poetry does--it shows us an alternate world and lulls us into living in it . . . The language catapults us into another plane of existence, one of facade and reflection." --New York Times Book Review

"Haunting, unsettling, and unforgettable, The Raising limns love, longing, belonging and the things we only think we know about life--and yes, death." --Caroline Leavitt, author of Pictures of You

From Laura Kasischke, the critically acclaimed, bestselling author of In a Perfect World and The Life Before Her Eyes, comes a hypnotic mystery about one girl's tragic death and the fallout that occurs on her closely-knit college campus. Part Stephen King, part Donna Tartt, and wholly unforgettable, Kasischke's The Raising sets a new standard for hair-raising literary suspense.

From the Back Cover

Last year Godwin Honors Hall was draped in black. The university was mourningthe loss of one of its own: Nicole Werner, a blond, beautiful, straight-A sororitysister tragically killed in a car accident that left her boyfriend, who was driving, remarkably--some say suspiciously--unscathed.

Although a year has passed, as winter begins and the nights darken, obsession withNicole and her death reignites: She was so pretty. So sweet-tempered. So innocent. Tooyoung to die.

Unless she didn't.

Because rumor has it that she's back.

Review Quotes

"Dark, disquieting...starts off as a tragic love story--beautiful sorority girl killed in a car accident--then is skillfully transformed into a thoroughly modern ghost story. Each character is haunted by the memories and repercussions of that night. Lyrical, layered and riveting to the final page." -- Family Circle

"An atmospheric shiver-fest . . . [a] devious, claustrophobic chiller." -- Marie Claire (UK)

"Haunting, unsettling, and unforgettable, THE RAISING limns love, longing, belonging and the things we only think we know about life--and yes, death. Told in knockout, shimmering prose, it's a literary mystery that's as hypnotic as it is brilliant." -- Caroline Leavitt, author of Pictures of You

"A fine writer, a haunted and haunting tale, a flurry of beautiful girls -- you don't put this book down once you've picked it up." -- Fay Weldon, author of Kehua

"Scary, spooky, sexy... we couldn't put it down." -- Nylon Magazine

"From the first page of THE RAISING, Laura Kasischke tells a story of great weight and wicked beauty . . . Don't bother trying to put it down; it will call you back, and you'll go. Surrender. You'll be glad you did." -- Amy MacKinnon, author of Tethered

"[A] literary page-turner reminiscent of Donna Tartt's Secret History." -- Booklist

"THE RAISING is that rare thing: a literary novel distinguished by splendid prose that is also a down-and-dirty page-turner, a creep show featuring empty caskets and walking corpses. It's as if "The Grapes of Wrath" had been rewritten by H.P. Lovecraft." -- Chicago Tribune

"Almost a supernatural thriller, almost a campus satire and almost but not quite a coming-of-age tale...Kasischke remains aware that she works in familiar traditions: her scenes play knowingly with the expectations...that her precedents raise, from "Buffy" to Euripides' "Bacchae." -- New York Times Book Review

"Nothing is as it first appears in Laura Kasischke's suspense novel THE RAISING...Just when readers think they've got it all figured out, there's another twist that spins them off in another direction...The kind of story readers won't soon forget." -- Grand Rapids Press