SHORTLISTED FOR THE AUTHORS' CLUB BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD
SHORTLISTED FOR THE McKITTERICK PRIZE

Dr 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.

About the Author

Rick Gekoski is a writer, rare-book dealer and former academic. He has written several widely praised non-fiction books including Staying Up, Tolkien's Gown, Outside of a Dog and Lost, Stolen or Shredded. This is his first novel.

In 2005 he was one of the judges for the Man Booker Prize, and was then chair of the judges for the Man Booker International Prize 2011. He teaches creative non-fiction for the Arvon Foundation and sits on their Development Board. In 2014 he was elected a Lifetime Honorary Vice-President of English PEN.

Reviews
An original and bleakly funny portrait of grief * * Economist * *
A supreme example of a natural and skilled storyteller -- Colm Toibin
Surprising . . . with a warmth that is genuinely and unexpectedly moving * * Guardian * *
A wondrous book with two fathers, Kingsley Amis and Dante -- Sebastian Barry
Makes for dark, thrilling reading . . . In James Darke, Gekoski has created a powerful, raging voice * * Spectator * *
I was beguiled and charmed by the vivid personality being revealed. By that, and by the fact that I couldn't stop reading. Gekoski puts words together with a sure touch and deep craftsmanship -- Philip Pullman
Rick Gekoski's impressive debut novel . . . Darke is both a tender and hard-hitting examination of grief and the slow, singular healing process . . . A brilliantly vivid creation . . . life-affirming and life-shattering * * The Herald * *
Stuffed with more wisdom, bile, wit and tenderness than many writers create in a lifetime. In James Darke we have a hero as troubled and eternal as King Lear . . . And in Rick Gekoski we have a late-flowering genius of a novelist who proves it's never too late to start a glittering career in fiction * * The Times * *
An immensely enjoyable elegy . . . done with precision and patience -- Stuart Kelly * * The Scotsman * *
Debut delight . . . Just how this gleefully conjured misanthrope came to wall himself off from the world is the mystery at the heart of a singular first novel that evolves into a moving meditation on loss and redemption * * Mail on Sunday * *


Awards
Short-listed for Authors' Club Best First Novel Award 2018 (UK).



Book Information
ISBN 9781782119395
Author Rick Gekoski
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint Canongate Books
Publisher Canongate Books
Weight(grams) 215g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 19mm