Leda and the Swan

A Novel

By: Anna Caritj

Narrated by: Alex McKenna

“Affecting narrative about consent, power and loneliness.”—Time

“Intoxicatingly ominous.”—Kirkus Reviews

In a hothouse of collegiate sex and ambition, one young woman mysteriously disappears after a wild campus party, and another becomes obsessed with finding her.

It’s Halloween night on a pastoral East Coast college campus. Scantily costumed students ride the fine line between adolescence and adulthood as they prepare for a night of drinking and debauchery. Expectations are high as Leda flirts with her thrilling new crush, Ian, and he flirts back. But by the end of the night, things will have taken a turn.

A mysterious young woman in a swan costume speaks with Leda outside a party—and then vanishes. When Leda later wakes up in Ian’s room the next morning, she is unsure exactly what happened between them. Meanwhile, as the campus rouses itself to respond to the young woman’s disappearance, rumors swirl, suspicious facts pile up, and Leda’s obsession with her missing classmate grows. Is it just a coincidence that Ian used to date Charlotte, the missing woman? Is Leda herself in danger? As Leda becomes more and more dangerously consumed with the mystery of Charlotte and questions about Ian, her motivations begin to blur. Is Leda looking for Charlotte, or trying to find herself?

In Leda and the Swan, Anna Caritj’s riveting storytelling brings together a suspenseful plot; an intimate, confessional voice; and invaluable insights into sex, power, and contemporary culture.

Disappointed- very circular narrative

I really wanted to enjoy this book but didn’t. No real character development. The plot was minimal and moved at a glacial pace

Sooo good

Character and setting are established in wonderfully atmospheric prose and yet for some reason the performer's reading feels strangely aggressive and staccato-like at the beginning. Don't worry, she settles down and everything falls into place. A gripping story about Leda's collegiate friendships (both inside and outside her sorority) amidst drinking and sexual experimentation. Students go to classes and do homework too--so it all feels very contemporary and very real, The protagonist's particular vulnerability--her mother has died and she doesn't feel free to say so.--is movingly and compellingly folded into the present action. Leda's obsession with a missing girl is wrapped up in her uncertainty over a blackout maybe-sexual encounter with a boy she's attracted to. Complications build as does the tension. Naive as Leda may be, she's wonderfully observant of the world around her. Strongly recommend!