Playwright Robert Levy weaves together a sparkling search for identity as several young people travel to a lonely artists' colony in the remote Canadian town of Starling Cove. Chef Michael "Blue" Whitley is seeking answers in the house his grandmother left him, the sale of which would give him the money he needs to save his restaurant in New York City. His best friend, Elisa, is looking for existential affirmation, too, as well as reasons to stay married to her therapist husband, Jason, who may be older but still struggles with his own demons and self-worth. Gabe rounds out the foursome, a street kid they met in the city who hovers near Blue with utter devotion.
The Glittering World is a fairy tale made distressingly real when Blue and Elisa disappear, perhaps at the hands of a supernatural race. The artist community may have disbanded decades ago, but echoes of their society and the events that transpired there continue to shape this world. This isn't the first time Blue has disappeared, his friends discover, and what he returned with is terrifying in its uncompromising reality.
Each character has a section from their respective viewpoints, first Blue, then Elisa, then Jason. Finally, it's Gabe who finds redemption and healing as he moves through the world of the Other Kind--beings beneath the earth that may not be as evil as they seem--and back to the glittering world as we know it. Levy's first novel is confident, brave and beautiful in every way, with resonant warmth and an understanding of the fundamentally singular human experience. --Rob LeFebvre, freelance writer and editor