Recommendation Friday

This week I’ll be recommending one of the most unique and delightfully strange books that I’ve ever read.

Gabriel and the Swallows by Esther Dalseno

Orvieto, 1957: Gabriel, a peasant boy with a disabled mother, constructs elaborate fantasy worlds to comfort when life becomes unbearable. The monotonous days of poverty and merciless bullying are interrupted when Gabriel unintentionally attracts the attention of a mysterious creature, a girl with swallow’s wings.

Navigating life with fellow outsider, the foreigner
Orlando Khan, Gabriel abandons his small town for the grandeurs of Rome.

But Gabriel is now a man and must choose where he
belongs: the imperfect reality, or the dream world that grows stronger and more seductive with each day…

I had no idea what to expect from this book but holy crap.
Esther Dalseno’s writing style is incredible. It’s poetic and beautiful and unlike anything I’ve ever read before. I loved the concept and the characters so much. Honestly, I couldn’t put this book down. The first chapter was so strange and weird, I had to know what was going to happen. This whole book was just a bunch of beautifully written strangeness but I loved every second of it.