SHORTLISTED FOR THE AUTHORS' CLUB BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARDSHORTLISTED FOR THE McKITTERICK PRIZEDr
James Darke has expelled himself from the world. He writes compulsively in his 'coming of old
age' journal he eats little drinks and smokes a lot he tries to console himself with the
wisdom of the great thinkers and poets yet finds nothing but disappointment. But cracks of
light start to appear in his carefully managed darkness - the tender bruised filaments of love
for his daughter and grandson. With scalding prose ruthless intelligence and an unforgettably
vivid protagonist Darke confronts some of humanity's greatest and most uncomfortable questions
about how we choose to live and to die.
