The Capital of Dreams by Heather O'Neill

A breathtaking dark fairytale of survival and betrayal, from the vivid imagination of Heather O'Neill. Sofia Bottom lives in a small country that Europe has forgotten. But inside its borders, the old myths of trees that come alive and fairies who live among their roots have given way to an explosion of the arts and the consolations of philosophy.

No one, from the clarinetists to the cabaret singers, is as revered in the arts as Sofia's brilliant mother, the writer Clara Bottom. How can 14-year-old Sofia, with a tin ear and an enduring love of the old myths, ever hope to win her mother's love?

When the country's greatest enemy invades, and the Capital is under threat, at last Clara turns to her daughter. Sofia must smuggle her new manuscript to safety on the last train evacuating children from the city. But the train draws to a suspicious halt in the middle of a forest, and Sofia must run for her life, losing her mother's most prized possession.

Now frightened and alone in a country at war, Sofia must find a way to reclaim what she has lost. On an epic journey through woods and razed towns, colliding with soldiers, survivors and other lost children, Sofia must make the choice between kindness and survival.

Heather O'Neill reveals once again that she is a master of language that is as delicious as cake and serious as a gunshot. (FromHarperCollins Canada)

HeatherO'Neillis a novelist, short story writer and essayist from Montreal. She wonCanada Reads2024, championingThe Futureby Catherine Leroux, translated by Susan Ouriou. O'Neillis the first person to winCanada Readsas both an author and a contender. Her debut novelLullabies for Little CriminalswonCanada Reads2007 when it wasdefended by musician John K. Samson.

O'Neillwas also the first back-to-back finalist for theScotiabank Giller PrizeforThe Girl Who WasSaturday Nightin 2014 and her short story collectionDaydreams of Angelsin 2015. Her books also include her most recent novel, When We Lost our Heads and The Lonely Hearts Hotel, which wonthe Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction.

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