A truly memorable novel, both for fans of the prize winning Andrew Miller and for new ones. On a dark but sadly resonant theme of our time, Clem, a successful photojournalist, witnesses the aftermath of a genocidal massacre in Africa, returns to London and then retreats to the depths of Somerset consumed by the belief that all people, including himself, are fundamentally wicked. Nothing - work, love, and sex - can rouse him, and no other outlook can shift his altered vision until Clem discovers the perpetrator of the genocide is being brought to justice and his determination to confront the author of his nightmares sets in motion a startling sequence of events, and on his return to London he embarks on an inward journey that will lead to his own recovery.
A disillusioned photojournalist finds solace close to home in this ';subtle, beautifully written' novel from the award-winning author of Pure (The Boston Globe). Clem Glass was a successful photojournalist, firm in the belief that photographs could capture truth and beautyuntil he went to Africa and witnessed the aftermath of a genocidal massacre. Clem returns to London with his faith in human nature shattered and his life derailed. Nothingwork, love, sexcan rouse his interest and no other outlook can restore his faith. The one person Clem is able to connect with is his sister, who has made her own sudden retreat from reality into the shadows of mental illness, and he finds some peace nursing her back to health in rural Somerset. Then, news arrives that offers him the chance to confront the source of his nightmares. From the celebrated author of Ingenious Pain and Oxygen, this masterfully rendered novel explores the perilously thin line between self-delusion and optimism. ';Once again Miller shows himself to be an acutely sensitive observer of life at a particular moment in history... [His] inventive yet unobtrusive prose conveys a richly complex reality filtered through Clem's stunned consciousness.' The Wall Street Journal ';[A] work of solemn artistry. Miller's style is one of guarded lyricism, in which he allows just enough poetry in the language to get the job done, the mood or moment caught.' The New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice)
Andrew Miller was born in Bristol in 1960. He has lived in Spain, Japan, Ireland and France, and currently lives in Somerset. His first novel, INGENIOUS PAIN, was published by Sceptre in 1997 and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and the Grinzane Cavour prize in Italy. His second novel, CASANOVA, was published in 1998, followed by OXYGEN, which was shortlisted for the Whitbread Novel Award and the Booker Prize in 2001, and THE OPTIMISTS, published in 2005.
