This is a dual storyline.
This was a difficult book due to the subject matter. The writing was brilliant.
This book emotionally destroyed me.

this was a really good read, it was a great fairy tale and I felt like it could be a retelling. I liked the two timelines and enjoyed reading this.

This novel took my awhile to read, and I struggled with the rating. Here's why: I downloaded this novel in February from NetGalley and started reading in March. I just finished today, June 30—It took me most of the book to really understand the two alternating stories and their connection, one a fable-like retelling and one a modern-day retelling. I enjoyed the stories separately but felt like they would have been more successful alone. The stories didn't really need one another and the parallels of character names between the two storylines made me feel as though the "symbolism" was bashing me over the head.
A super short fable, maybe half of it at the beginning as a prologue, and half at the end as an epilogue would have suited this novel better and really allowed me as the reader to connect with the modern day characters. I constantly felt like there was this wall between myself and the modern-day timeline that I could not break down. The fable interrupted the story I really wanted to hear, and the shifting language was rough, particularly because the ebook version I was reading was not spaced properly and so words were merged together, paragraphs were separated mid-line and other little formatting things that kept jarring me from the narrative. Reading was a bit tedious because of this.
Overall, I could have done without the fictional version. Elias, Sean, and their community were immensely more entertaining, enlightening, and profound.
It is a novel that unfortunately is still extremely relevant in terms to the oddly similar climate toward those in the LGBTQ community. AIDS and how the disease is viewed and the struggles same-sex couples endure when claiming benefits, marrying and other basic relationship rights that heterosexual couples have. While we have made strides in the last twenty years, there is still much growth to be had and this novel is truly eye opening with how slowly those changes are occurring.
The retelling in modern-day terms would have received 4-stars, but the fable itself 3-stars.

Silence = Death

At first, I experienced a bit of disconnection in these two parallel stories: one, a re-telling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Wild Swans,” in which a devoted sister undergoes a terrible ordeal – about which she must remain silent – to free her brothers from an enchantment that turns them into swans by day, men by night; and a heart-wrenching coming-of-age story about a gay teen at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. I found myself engrossed in Elias’s tale, which brought up memories of gay friends during that fearful time. The difference in my reading experience was partly due to my experience as a friend and ally, watching one after another of my friends become sick and die, remembering the atmosphere of fear and homophobia, the all-too-often rejection by families, and partly because in the Andersen tale, I knew what was going to happen. Since I was familiar with the story, I had no worries that Eliza, the sister, would prevail and that her brothers, once more restored to themselves, would rescue her from being executed as a witch. I didn’t know that not only would Elias’s lover, Sean, contract AIDS (and die), but that Elias himself would fall victim to the HIV virus. This journey, from Elias initially finding himself homeless after his family kicks him out for being gay, to meeting Sean and being welcomed into the gay and gay-friendly art and music community, to the evolving love story, engrossed me attention as it engaged my emotions.

For much of the book, I was puzzled as to the relationship between the two stories. There were a few obvious intersections, homophobia or rather hatred of homosexuality being one of them. It wasn’t until I closed the last chapter and mulled over the experience that I understood the deeper connection: Silence = Death. In order to break the spell, Eliza must cut, thresh, and weave nettles into shirts for her brothers, a long an excruciating process. I’ve brushed up against nettles, and the stinging is no joke (although to be fair, poison oak is worse). During that time, if she utters a single word, her brothers will remain swans forever. She cannot explain or defend herself, not even to save her own life.

HIV didn’t evolve because gay people hid who they were and whom they loved (for very good reason), but it flourished in an atmosphere of silence born out of fear. Eliza’s faithfulness arose out of love for her brothers, and the loyalty and solidarity of the LGBT+ community gave rise to movements like ACT UP that demanded action, and respect.

Part of the power of this story lies in the subtle resonances between fairy tale and contemporary tragedy. I say, “part,” because Elias speaks for himself. His story alone would have been an engrossing, heart-rending read. The juxtaposition of the Andersen story created a thoughtful, beautifully written pas de deux.

It’s a wonderful book that spans two timelines and two different lives when is a fairytale they have a more contemporary . It is beautifully written and definitely one to read .

I got far enough through this that I'll write a review, even though I didn't finish.

It's a very serious book. I found it a bit of a slog, more for reasons of taste than the author's ability. There are two storylines in different times (and genres; fairytale retelling versus realism with slight hints of magical realism starting to creep in). When I gave up at 61% the two stories, which alternate chapters, were finally starting to develop tenuous connections to one another that were not just thematic resonance or echoes of imagery, but I still wasn't really loving either one of them. They're beautifully, even lyrically told at times, but they're so very earnest and tragic and unrelieved by any lightness whatsoever that I couldn't stick it out to the end.

I guess I'm just not the audience for this one.

Originally published in 1999, author Peg Kerr's tale is an exquisite modern retelling of the Fairytale; "The Wild Swans" by Hans Christian Anderson. This retelling combines fantasy and literary fiction in an intense tale for today's world.

Dual timelines with Dual point of views takes the reader between 1680's New England and 1980's New York.

In Puritan New England we meet young Eliza; dutiful daughter, hardworking and god fearing. A secret is revealed to Eliza and her simple devotional life takes a new path, her world will never be the same.

Jumping forward to the1980's, where we meet Elias; homeless street kid, newly disowned hedgefund son by his family- for "coming out".

Kerr masterfully weaves these 2 seemingly separate stories together in ways you can't imagine and dont fully see until...ding dong the lights come on!
It's an homage to silent dying when we should speak up.
4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Endeavour Media and the author Ms. Peg Kerr for the opportunity to read this Advanced Readers Copy of "The Wild Swans".
The opinions expressed in this review are mine alone.

++Nominated for a Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for adult literature.
If you like a story with struggles,curses,and it's a modern day fairy tale this is it! Plus add-in two time periods,self sacifice,hope and of course love.💛 #The author Peg Kerr is also donating part of her profits to #AIDS QUILT and the #TREVOR PROJECT.
This is the retelling of the Hans Christian Anderson's The Wild Swans set in England.Eliza in 1689 is banished by a evil step mother and then in 1981 Elias is banished by also.My reviews do not have spoilers.
The fairy tale is set in motion.Enjoy.
Thank You to #Endeavour Media and #Net Galley for the free e-book.

<blockquote>It was all there in the background, Elias realized while looking through the album later, like the distant cacophony of traffic on the other side of a closed window. You think you can ignore it, but it keeps getting a little louder, a little closer, irritating at first, and then more and more ominous. There was a kind of anxiety among their friends, even the ones who seemed entirely healthy... [loc 2802]</blockquote>

The story is told in two parallel strands: Eliza, in the 1680s, discovers that her stepmother's changed her eleven brothers into swans; and Elias, in 1980s New York, is learning to live with his sexuality as a gay man, even while his friends are dying of a mysterious illness. Both Elias and Eliza have been disowned by their parents, but find love and friendship elsewhere; both are silent, though silence = death; both find love unexpectedly, though Elias has to endure the lingering death of his lover Sean.

There are other echoes: a man of the cloth questioning his faith; food placed just out of reach; the role of the mother, or the stepmother, in bringing doom to a son; the need to create art in the face of a curse ... And there are hints that the two stories might be connected: that Eliza might be Elias' ancestor, and that another (trans) character might be the reincarnation of someone who deeply regretted her inability to help Eliza. But these are only hints: Kerr has a light touch. She doesn't hammer home the parallels, or sentimentalise either Elias' or Eliza's suffering: nor does she glamourise the gay scene at its brief heyday. Neither protagonist is given to dramatics, but both experience profound emotion. <i>The Wild Swans</i> is a powerful story about love, and hope, and -- to a certain extent -- self-sacrifice.

I read this novel when it was first published in 1999: I haven't reread it since, and recalled very little of the plot, though I did remember the characters and themes. It's aged surprisingly well, and I'm happy that it is now available again, in ebook format, from new publisher <a href="http://www.endeavourmedia.co.uk">Endeavour</a>. (I received a free e-copy from NetGalley in exchange for this honest review.) There's also a new foreword by Peg Kerr, which highlights how far we've come in those two decades: not only in treatments for AIDS but in marriage rights.

My thanks to Endeavour Media/Endeavour Venture for a digital edition via NetGalley of ‘The Wild Swans’ by Peg Kerr in exchange for an honest review.

‘The Wild Swans’ was originally published in 1999 and was nominated in 2000 for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature. In a 1999 review Charles de Lint wrote of it: “among the very best contemporary retellings of fairy tales, those that retain the old charm and magic of the original, but use the classic material to illuminate elements of our life in the real world.”

So after twenty years it has been republished as an ebook. I welcome titles such as this being made available to a new generation of readers as well as to those like myself who missed it first time around.

The narrative moves between two stories set in different time periods. The first is a retelling of Hans Christian Anderson’s ‘The Wild Swans’ set in England and New England during the late 17th Century. Lady Eliza Grey is banished from her family home thanks to the machinations of her stepmother. She goes in search of her eleven brothers, who had also been banished, and discovers that they have been cursed. She is granted a way to break the curse though it comes at a high price.

The second tale is set in New York during the early 1980s. Elias Latham has been banished from his father’s house after coming out. For a while he is living on the streets though a chance encounter with street musician Sean introduces him to the local gay community. However, it isn’t long before members of the community are falling prey to a mysterious plague.

At first I wasn’t sure how a historical retelling of a fairy tale focusing on a witch’s curse transforming her victims into swans would work alongside a more contemporary story about the spread of AIDS within the New York 1980s gay scene. Yet I found myself quickly caught up in the challenges faced by Eliza and Elias in their respective settings.

Aside from Eliza and Elias both being outcasts, a link is made between the two tales as Elias mentions in passing a family legend about an ancestor and indeed Eliza does encounter a young Puritan magistrate named Latham in the New World.

There are other subtle connections between the two and the movement between the time periods and between fantasy and realistic fiction flows very organically.

Kerr has written a new foreword to this edition about the changes that have taken place in terms of LGBTQIA rights and the search for a cure for AIDS since she originally wrote the novel. A portion of her profits both then and now have been donated to charities including the AIDS Quilt and The Trevor Project.

Overall, I found this a beautifully written novel that, as de Lint acknowledged, utilised the archetypal power of the original fairy tale to highlight issues in the real world and wove a powerful and moving tale.

I rarely read this genre, but now and again i do like to try something different. This was a well written book, but it wasn't really a book that i can say that i really enjoyed. I'm not fond of stories that is told from two different time periods, despite it being done well. I can see that this book will appeal to many, but unfortunately, not for me.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy. This is my honest review, which i have voluntarily given.

Unfortunately I am putting this book down around the 30% mark, so I am only posting this to Netgalley and not on the wider internet, as I don't typically review DNFs, but this was an eARC so I'd like to say something about it.

There are a few reasons I am struggling with this book, but story-wise not to the point that I wouldn't be interested in picking it up again. In fact, I might borrow a physical copy from my library in a couple weeks just to finish up the story before I forget too much about it. The premise is interesting, and I like the idea of the two stories coming together, although I'm still at the beginning so they aren't as intertwined as I expect them to become.

The biggest reason I am putting this specific edition of the book down is because the Kindle editing is just terrible. I am not sure if it was just still in development when they sent out the eARCs, or if something went wrong with my file, or what, but every ten words (or less!) there is a missed space or some other simple text issue. It's detrimental to my reading and I just can't finish this edition. Since this edition is specifically an ebook edition, I want to put this in my review since it had such a big effect on my reading, and I hope that these glaring issues are fixed before the actual release.

Fascinating story, connecting the plight of the gay community in the 1980s (when AIDS was first becoming known as 'the gay plague') with one of my favourite fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen. The two stories are weaved almost seamlessly together, with every other chapter being about Eliza in the 17th century and every other chapter being about Elias in the 20th century. The shifts never seem abrupt or disruptive, as one keeps finding parallels from one story line to the other. Names, places and events occur in both stories - some so subtle that I only notice them on my 3rd read through. It's a poignant and moving book that I'd recommend to anybody.

Even if this book is well written I couldn't connect to the story and it fell flat.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was beautifully written. I really loved how this story played out. The author really had a sense of the era's she wrote about. This book was just overall a wonderful and beautiful read.

Thank you so much to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to review this title.

This is a very well written book. Peg Kerr does an excellent job of capturing two very different eras/storylines and giving them each their own unique feel and voice. Eliza's story was much more familiar to me, since I know the original fairy tale and have also read other retellings of it – so although I enjoyed it, there was no particular new spin or twist. Elias's story was much more of a surprise: a terribly sad story about the gay community's struggle for acceptance and the tragedy that was the AIDS outbreak in the 1980s.

The only thing that stopped this being a 5 star book for me is that I didn't feel that the two stories were integrated closely enough to make the book work as a coherent whole. I could see the thematic similarities, but a lot of the parallels were either too subtle or obvious but unexplained. For me it felt like reading two different stories, both of which I liked, but which never quite gelled together. Eliza's story relies to a large extent on the acceptance of the supernatural – very much a fantasy story – whereas Elias's story is wholly rooted in reality. I applaud the author's ambition, but it didn't quite work for me.

Nevertheless, I would recommend this book for anyone who wants something thought-provoking and out of the ordinary.

This wasn't for me.
I didn't particularly enjoy the Elias side of the story.
I'm afraid I was mentally rolling my eyes quite soon in at stuff.
The Eliza part of the story I found more engaging,but as it was broken up all the time by other chapters,it stilted the flow.