From small-town England to the Russian court of the 17th century in the company of a man who can feel no pain. From an object of curiosity to a great surgeon himself we learn much of the science and the philosophy of the period as we travel with this extraordinary man in a very skilful, densely written, complicated novel. Challenging and intelligent, it is a rewarding read.
'ANDREW MILLER'S WRITING IS A SOURCE OF WONDER AND DELIGHT' Hilary Mantel
'ONE OF OUR MOST SKILFUL CHRONICLERS OF THE HUMAN HEART AND MIND' Sunday Times
Winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the International Dublin Literary Award
'Astoundingly good' The Times
'Dazzling' Observer
'Timeless' Spectator
The extraordinary prize-winning debut from Andrew Miller - a highly imaginative, atmospheric first novel
At the dawn of the Enlightenment, a man is born unable to feel pain. A source of wonder and scientific curiosity as a child, he rises through the ranks of Georgian society to become a brilliant surgeon. Yet as a human being he fails, for he can no more feel love and compassion than pain. Until, en route to St Petersburg to inoculate the Empress Catherine, he meets his nemesis and saviour.
PRAISE FOR ANDREW MILLER
'Unique, visionary, a master at unmasking humanity' Sarah Hall
'A writer of very rare and outstanding gifts' Independent on Sunday
'A highly intelligent writer, both exciting and contemplative' The Times
