Terrace Story; A Novel

From the author of the highly praised novel Temporary, comes a deeply personal exploration of time, a fable about love, and an epic daydream for a broken-hearted world.

Annie, Edward, and their young daughter, Rose, live in a small apartment. One evening, without warning, they discover a stunning terrace hidden in their closet. It wasn’t there before, and it only seems to appear when their friend Stephanie visits. A city dweller’s dream come true! But every new space comes with a hidden cost, and the terrace sparks a series of events that will forever change their cramped home—and the world around them.

Terrace Story unfolds the lives of the characters who face these consequences: the small family, their uncertain future, and those who orbit their fragile world. The love and distance between these characters stretch infinitely, spanning generations. How far can the mind wander when searching for something lost? Where do we place our loneliness, yearning, and longing? What do we do with emotions that seem to transcend the physical, reaching beyond life and death?

Adapted from the National Magazine Award-winning story, Hilary Leichter’s profound second novel delves into how we sustain love when death looms over every moment. A bold and thought-provoking meditation on loss, Terrace Story is an exploration of extinction, a reverie on what comes next, and a map to guide us forward.