In a Strange Room

2010 Man Booker Prize Shortlist

A young man takes three journeys, through Greece, India and Africa. He travels lightly, simply. To those who travel with him and those whom he meets on the way — including a handsome, enigmatic stranger, a group of careless backpackers and a woman on the edge — he is the Follower, the Lover and the Guardian. Yet, despite the man's best intentions, each journey ends in disaster. Together, these three journeys will change his whole life.
A novel of longing and thwarted desire, rage and compassion, In a Strange Room is the hauntingly beautiful evocation of one man's search for love, and a place to call home.

"The most intense and passionate novel to date from Man Booker-shortlisted author Damon Galgut: 'the bold, fresh voice of South African fiction.'" Observer

Damon Galgut was born in Pretoria in 1963. He wrote his first novel, A Sinless Season, when he was seventeen. His other books include Small Circle of Beings, The Beautiful Screaming of Pigs, The Quarry, The Good Doctor and The Imposter. The Good Doctor was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and the Dublin/IMPAC Award. The Imposter was also shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. He lives in Cape Town.