In this fascinatingly imaginative novel, Julia Blackburn has decimated all the rules, creating a magical tale that is part fable, part allegory, part present, part past, and wholly genuine and poetic. <br><br>The unnamed protagonist has recently lost someone she loved, and her solution is to abandon the present, and the overwhelming pain.  The seamless narrative lands her in a medieval seaside village where mermaids wash ashore, devils haunt in packs, a child is born with the head of a fish, and where one day, quite out of nowhere, there emerges a sage and wandering leper.  The leper leads a small group of the villagers, including the protagonist, on a journey to Jerusalem, a harrowing pilgrimage that compels all the travelers to confront their deepest selves.<br><br>Exquisite and lyrical, <b>The Lepers Companions</b> is a heart-rending tale by one of our most fiercely original storytellers.