'An idyll of immense charm ... a masterpiece’ John Bayley, The New York Review of Books

'Thomas was born in the village of Gine at that time of year when a ripe apple thumps to the ground during an afternoon lull.' So a boy's life begins in a winding river valley on the Polish-Russian border where time is measured by seasonal rhythms and ancient songs. For Thomas, the ghosts in the forest are as real as the magical water-snakes that live in the Issa; in the village he is entranced by the women with their cinched waists and the men in their long boots. But when he is shown a map, he discovers a kingdom all his own and starts to dream of leaving the valley behind.

"Not only an impressive but an immediately appealing novel ... The Issa Valley has the sensuousness and immediacy one associates with novels apparently inspired by the writer's own childhood recollections: David Copperfield and The Mill on the Floss come to mind" - Times Literary Supplement

"An idyll of immense charm and poetic depth ... It takes a masterpiece to reveal the sheer unreality of our modern creative modes and poses, and Milosz's novel is such a masterpiece" - The New York Review of Books