Description
'Every new novel by Giles Foden is something to celebrate - my hand leaps to the shelf' PAUL THEROUX
'The most original and interesting novelist of his generation' ALLAN MASSIE, SCOTSMAN
2039, the Skeleton Coast of Namibia. 160,000 kilometres-square of ocean-crashed desert, littered with bones, shipwrecks and shattered dreams.
Cat Brosnan, a young scientist, has just arrived, aiming to track down a much-needed water source believed to lie hidden within this vast and hostile landscape.
Six years before, the search for that same fabled aquifer had led Cat's own mother to abandon her daughter in Ireland, never to be heard of again.
Now Cat is ready to find out what happened to her mother, to succeed where she failed and finally discover the whereabouts of a freshwater reserve hidden under sand and rock.
But she's not the only one looking for the aquifer: mining corporations want it, foreign governments too, never mind all those others who need it just to survive.
In a world of sand, sun and water wars, the aquifer begins to seem like a fantasy, Cat's quest for it a mission to find her own true self.
About the Author
Giles Foden was born in Warwickshire in 1967 and grew up in Africa. He is the author of four novels, Last King of Scotland, Ladysmith, Zanzibar and Turbulence, and one work of non-fiction, Mimi and Toutou Go Forth. For five years he was assistant editor of the TLS, and was then Deputy Literary Editor at the Guardian. He's now Professor of Creative Writing at UEA. He is married to Matilda Hunt and lives in Norfolk.
Reviews
...an entertaining yarn that brings a touch of Rider Haggard to modern eco-politics -- Max Davidson * Mail on Sunday *
...an entertaining yarn that brings a touch of Rider Haggard to modern eco-politics -- Max Davidson * Mail on Sunday *
Book Information
ISBN 9780297868224
Author Giles Foden
Format Hardback
Page Count 304
Imprint Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Publisher Orion Publishing Co
Weight(grams) 500g
Dimensions(mm) 162mm * 240mm * 28mm