Synopses & Reviews
In southern Greece in 2004, a close-knit group of archaeologists searches for the buried traces of a formidable ancient power. A student running from a failed marriage and family, Ben Mercer is a latecomer to their ranks, drawn to the charisma of the group's members—to the double-edged friendship of Jason, the unsettling beauty of Natsuko and Eleschen, and the menace of Max and Eberhard. But Ben is far too eager to join the excavation project, and there is more to the group's dangerous games and dynamic than he understands. And there are things that should always remain hidden.
A novel of astonishing grace and power from award-winning author Tobias Hill, The Hidden brilliantly explores the secrets we keep, the ties that bind us, and the true cost of fulfilling our desires.
Review
“[A] high-stakes, propulsive narrative. . . . The novels ideas are explored with stylish rigor and a rare boldness made all the more powerful by its surprising lyricism. New York Times Book Review
Review
“[An] elegant, sinister novel…Grippingly good.” Marie Claire (UK)
Review
“[T]his is a wonderful novel: elegant yet savage, restrained yet full-throttled, illuminated by the sort of brilliance that leaves you short of breath.” Daily Telegraph (London)
Review
“Hill keeps the tension building to a climax which features the most unpleasant final image Ive come across in a long time. Quite brilliant.” The Independent on Sunday
Review
“Apart from everything else that this novel is a beautifully paced thriller, a meditation on loss, guilt, obsession...it is also one of the finest novels written so far about this, our age of terror.” The Observer
Review
“The ingenious plot twists of THE HIDDEN are satisfying to follow, and the books constant sifting of the present through the past is done with admirable intelligence. But what lingers more than anything are these quick, sure, playfully notational passages. You dont often see writing as lively as this.” The Guardian
Synopsis
"An unusual, exhilarating hybrid of high-stakes, propulsive narrative; erudite, yet breezy summations of specialized historical data; and strikingly evocative language. . . .The novel's ideas are explored with stylish rigor and a rare boldness made all the more powerful by its surprising lyricism. The setting and many of the themes in THE HIDDEN call to mind Don DeLillo's novel The Names." -- New York Times Book Review
From PEN/Macmillan award-winning novelist and poet Tobias Hill comes The Hidden, a gripping story of a na ve newcomer whose arrival at a high-stakes archaeological dig of ancient Spartan ruins unearths long-buried secrets. Interweaving scenes of ancient Sparta with present-day events in a fascinating study of group dynamics, Hill cuts to the heart of the games people play to stay in control. Written with astonishing grace and power, The Hidden is a novel about secrets and the true cost of fulfilling one's desires.
Synopsis
"An unusual, exhilarating hybrid of high-stakes, propulsive narrative; erudite, yet breezy summations of specialized historical data; and strikingly evocative language." -- New York Times Book Review
From PEN/Macmillan award-winning novelist and poet Tobias Hill, a thrilling novel of astonishing grace and power that explores the secrets we keep, the ties that bind us, and the true cost of fulfilling our desires.
In southern Greece in 2004, a close-knit group of archaeologists searches for the buried traces of a formidable ancient power. A student running from a failed marriage and family, Ben Mercer is a latecomer to their ranks, drawn to the charisma of the group's members--to the double-edged friendship of Jason, the unsettling beauty of Natsuko and Eleschen, and the menace of Max and Eberhard. But Ben is far too eager to join the excavation project, and there is more to the group's dangerous games and dynamic than he understands. And there are things that should always remain hidden.
Synopsis
From PEN/Macmillan award-winning novelist and poet Tobias Hill comes The Hidden, a gripping story of a naive newcomer whose arrival at a high-stakes archaeological dig of ancient Spartan ruins unearths long-buried secrets. Interweaving scenes of ancient Sparta with present-day events in a fascinating study of group dynamics, Hill cuts to the heart of the games people play to stay in control. Written with astonishing grace and power, The Hidden is a novel about secrets and the true cost of fulfilling ones desires.
About the Author
Tobias Hill's collection of short stories, Skin (1997), won the PEN/Macmillan Silver Pen Award, and he has twice been short-listed for the Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. The author of The Love of Stones, Hill is the Royal Society of Literature Fellow at Sussex University and lives in London.