In this timely and explosive novel, an academic’s seemingly mundane midlife crisis takes an alarming turn after his visit to a Greek monastery.It’s February 2019. Philip Notman, an acclaimed historian with a German wife and a troubled nineteen-year-old son, is on his way back from a conference in Norway when he has an unexpected and disturbing experience that completely alters his view of the life that he has been living and the world that surrounds him.
Believing that Inés, an attractive Spanish sociologist whom he met at the conference, can shed light on what he is feeling, he travels to Cádiz to see her. But his journey doesn’t end there. Is he thinking of leaving his wife, whom he still loves, or is he trying to change a reality that he appears to find unbearable? Is he on a quest for a simpler and more authentic existence or is he utterly self-deluded? And if he is in denial about what he is doing, how far will he go to avoid facing the truth?
In this highly original and unsettling novel, one of the UK’s most celebrated writers portrays an ordinary man in an extraordinary dilemma, a dilemma that will push him to the very edge of annihilation and disaster.
"In this unsettling, timely, and explosive novel, one of the UK's most admired and celebrated writers gives us a portrait of an ordinary man in an extraordinary dilemma, and asks questions that could be transformed, if only we could see through the illusions and disinformation that have us in their grasp. It's February 2019. Philip Notman, a respected academic with a German wife and a troubled nineteen-year-old son, is on his way back from a conference in Norway when he has an unexpected and disturbing experience that completely alters his view of the world. In an instant, the reality that he has always taken for granted becomes unbearable. Believing that Ines, a Spanish woman he met at the conference, can shed light on what he is feeling, he travels to Cadiz to see her. But his journey doesn't end there. In a progress that involves both the exploration of an idea and a quest for a simpler and more meaningful existence, he winds up in a small village on the south coast of Crete. Gradually, and yet inexorably, a drastic course of action occurs to him. He returns to London, knowing exactly what he must do, even if it ruins his life and the lives of those closest to him. How much are we prepared to sacrifice for our beliefs? Can love take second place to an idea? Is it possible to find a more authentic way of living?"--
