Annelie in the Depths of the Night

Annelie is left at her grandmother's house by her father, who fails to explain this drastic change in her life, or to tell her where her mother has gone. After several weeks of perplexity, she discovers the depths of the night under her bedclothes, and upon entering them is swept into a phantasmagoria in which toys, rooms and animals talk to her - the moon becomes her living boat, her own head begins to argue with her, and a menacing Frock Woman relentlessly pursues her. Annelie's adventures, recounted in a vivid, whispery, present historic, seem to be a nightmarish exploration of her anxieties and longings, yet they are also touchingly magical. As in a child's restless dreams, reassuring voices punctuate the terrors. This is a truly haunting and original book.