Daphnis and Chloe

Description

Longlisted for the 2026 Giller Prize A 2026 CIBA Booksellers List Selection One ofLit Hubs Most Anticipated Books of 2026A fable about love and innocence and beauty, and finding a light through the darkness.Theres a city on an island in the Pacific that can only be reached by ferry, a city where a mechanic named Frank opens a garage with his old friend Charlie. Both men marry the women they love but are unable to have children. There are drugs on the streets of this city that take away pain for strings of minutes and bring synthetic rapture; and by these streets the couples are given two babies, abandoned under strange circumstances. The boy they name Daphnis, and the girl Chloe.And so begins a book unlike anything else, a modern retelling of an ancient story. Part Ovid and partTrue Romance, and narrated by Eros himself,Daphnis and Chloeoffers a pulpy meditation on love and beauty, on people triumphing over darkness by wrestling deep within it, on the solace of art, and on the simple but profound pleasure provided to a blind old man as he holds his wifes hand and listens to an increasingly familiar story.Praise forDaphnis and ChloeA clever and hardcore reimagination of a second-century Greek novel of the same name . . . The jacket copy describes the book as part Ovid and partTrue Romance, citing two things that I enjoy, but neither theMetamorphosesnor the combo of Tony Scott + Tarantino prepared me for the soul-battering intensity of the novel! Was on the verge of eruptive tears throughout, even as the pages of high-speed dialogue turned themselves. Hard to think of other contemporary novels that aim for this register of Euripidean disorder and tragedy.Molly Young,The Life and Errors of Molly YoungMcAdams book brings the deep, heartfelt and thoughtful humanity of a Pico Iyer story, with the atmosphere and foreboding of a Kem Nunn novel . . . Even the most violent scenes are dealt with care and a kind of beauty which serves to break the readers heart even deeper . . . McAdams novel is short, perfectly so, forgoing lengthy exposition in favour of clear and bright prose, giving the reader so much in a page or two. Is it at times a crime novel, a retelling of an ancient tale and in moments even has the feel of an epic, dreamy long form poem.Jeremy Thomas Gilmer,Seaboard Review of BooksA delicate exploration of why love stories must be told and retold . . . [Daphnis and Chloe] is both lean and digressive, pulpy and poetic. There is an elliptical and mythical quality to McAdams book, as if Raymond Carver and Anne Carson were goading him to write each sentence as beautifully and brutally as possible.John Casey,Literary Review of CanadaMcAdams latest has much to recommend . . . Of-the-moment social themes such as generational despair and wealth inequity are prime movers of the larger plot, and increasingly bubble up in the lives of McAdams characters. The result is a thoughtful meditation on the things we choose as well as those that are chosen for us.Joel Boyce,Winnipeg Free PressA compulsively readable retelling of the eponymous Greek myth . . . McAdam blends kinetic pacing with thought-provoking questions from narrator Cupid: How can you open your eyes to the world in search of beauty and not see its hazards and cruelty? This ambitious love story deserves to be McAdams U.S. breakthrough.Publishers WeeklyMcAdams voice really sings.Ariella Garmaise,The WalrusI loved this retelling of the Greek classic by a Canadian author! There is sheer joy in reading such beautiful prose.Daphnis and Chloeis a meditation on love and all its opposites, and on our human struggles to overcome pain, fear, and our failingsall with the reminder that the sun will rise each morning. Love, innocence, and beauty will prevail in the darkest of times. For fans of MillersCirce, AtwoodsPenelopiad, or NetflixsKAOS.Kate Simpson, Curiosity House Books (Creemore, ON)A classic tale rung through the contemporary ringer, narrated by the one and only LOVE, that universal townie thats always hovering in the corner when the party turns sour. Is LOVE at fault, at play, the saver of the everloving day, or, as per usual, the party ouroboros? Do they conquer all or just snag a case of beer and que sera out the back door? Step inside, grab a Solo cup and see.Ian McCord, Rec Room Books (Athens, GA)This dark modern reimagining of the ancient story of two foundlings whose loveat first innocent, then lost, ultimately to be found againis told by Eros himself. Despite the horrific circumstances that separate them, and the violence that ensues, they learn with love, there is hope. A small volume that packs a powerful punch. A propulsive, mesmerizing read.Alana Haley, Schuler Books (Grand Rapids, MI)A dark fable underlined by a glowing current, this slim novel is an incantation, a reminder of the human story we all already know in our bones. Sketched anew in stark contrast against the ocean, the land, and the car mechanic shop, this is a story of parentage, destined lovers, brutal bikers, and the underbelly of a city. Doesnt daylight show us the contours of darkness itself, asks McAdam? In the words of the author: It might not look like love, but it was. Anyone with a romantic bone in their body will be enchanted by McAdams prose and the way this dark story will slide into your heart: sturdy, reliable, true in the old way.Julia Paganelli Marin, Pearls Books (Fayetteville, AR)This short, but powerful novel draws you in with the sense of a modern myth. In a fresh way, it tells of the ache of love and heartbreak; desire and longing, innocence and darkness; and predators and prey. I was completely drawn into this story.Katrina Bright-Yerges, Books & Company (Oconomowoc, WI)A gorgeously written, unsettling retelling of an old story. It packs a lot in so few pages but it stays with you long after youre done.Matt Burris, Magic City Books (Tulsa, OK)One of the most human books Ive read of late, and reads more like a Greek tragedy than novel (it is, of course, narrated by Eros). The grittiness of day to day life lends a modern feel to the story, yet the characters live on a remote island, accessible only by ferry, which adds a morality-tale land far, far away magic. Read it for the love story, but enjoy it for its simple and intelligent examination of family and humanity.Erin Chervenock, Village Books (Bellingham, WA)Colin McAdam has written a wee gem of a book, a deceptively tender layering of what feel like aphorisms but are more than that. When you feel pure love . . . you attain the highest wisdom, says the narrator ofDaphnis and Chloe, the narrator being Eros himself. Life becomes very simple. Each days purpose is clear: love. That isnt always clear to some of the tortured souls that inhabit this tale, pain and beauty walking hand in hand. But there are small triumphs nonetheless, this book being one of them.Ian Gill, Upstart & Crow (Vancouver, BC)A sweeping, spiritual book full of both classic and more unexpected pleasures. McAdam extracts the timeless essence from an age-old story and imprints it onto a world that feels both archetypal and true. As a reader who gravitates toward strange and unconventional books, I was worried that the mythical framing here would be too cloying or saccharine, but the book is really a tricky tightrope walk between radiance and realism that deftly nails both registerssomething likeHard Rain Fallingby way ofWings of Desire. A memorable and skillfully-told story that will delight readers of many different types of books.Bryan Seitz, Literati Bookstore (Ann Arbor, MI)Recent years have seen countless contemporized retellings of classical myths inundate bookstore shelves and social media accounts, but this is the first that seems to exist by necessity and not because of trendiness. I devoured it whole.James Crossley, Leviathan Bookstore (St. Louis, MO)Daphnis and Chloewas both a surprise and a pleasure to read. Narrated by the mythical Eros of Greek literature, it is about two men on a remote island, married, with no children. Their found children, Daphnis and Chloe, become theirs to raise. What follows is a romance and a dark tale about struggle and overcoming and hope for all of us who seek true loveor who know they have found it. Enjoy!Linda Bond, Aunties Bookstore (Spokane, WA)Best friends throughout childhood, as teens Daphnis and Chloe are on the brink of romantic love when they are pulled into separate arms of their small towns drug/sex/crime network and put to work. Eventual escape enables them to repay the horrors; recovery is difficult but finally achieved. Stunningly intense, beautiful, and brutal, this novel is very, very sticky.Kay Wosewick, Boswell Book Company (Milwaukee, WI)Daphnis and Chloeby Colin McAdam is a raw modern retelling of the classic Greek story by Longus featuring two doomed young lovers. Served up with a pulpy punch of Jim Thompson, Iggy Pop, and Quentin Tarantino, I loved it!Caitlin Baker, Island Books (Mercer Island, WA)Praise for Colin McAdamHis voice is original and fiercely intelligent. It somehow possesses this combination of hard-won world weariness and exuberant, unshakeable faith in a better world. The essence of his prose, for me, is contradiction . . . my favourite thing . . . contradictions and layers and layers of meaning. He exposes all of our treacherous and base instincts but with the unspoken caveat that, in spite of our horrible human ways, we must always, relentlessly, struggle to love each other.Miriam Toews, author ofA Complicated KindnessI have long been convinced that Colin McAdam is a literary genius. Whats extraordinary is that each of the books he writes is a totally distinct type of genius. Every time. Hes in a league of his own.Max Porter, author of Grief is the Thing with FeathersMcAdam teases and turns around language, giving us a creative and wondrous portrait of nonhuman society from the inside out.Dan Kois,SlateBoth disarmingly familiar and richly, movingly strange.Sam Sacks,Wall Street Journal