Synopses & Reviews
A finalist for the 2010 Man Booker Prize In this newest novel from South African writer Damon Galgut, a young loner travels across eastern Africa, Europe, and India. Unsure what he's after, and reluctant to return home, he follows the paths of travelers he meets along the way. Treated as a lover, a follower, a guardian, each new encounter-with an enigmatic stranger, a group of careless backpackers, a woman on the verge-leads him closer to confronting his own identity. Traversing the quiet of wilderness and the frenzy of border crossings, every new direction is tinged with surmounting mourning, as he is propelled toward a tragic conclusion.
In a Strange Room is a brilliant, stylish novel of anger and compassion, longing and thwarted desire, and a hauntingly beautiful evocation of life on the road. First published in The Paris Review in three parts, one of which was selected for a National Magazine Award, and another for the O. Henry Prize, In a Strange Room was shortlisted for the 2010 Man Booker Prize.
Review
"This is a wise and brilliant book." --
Times "A beautiful book, strikingly conceived and hauntingly written, a writers novel par excellence without a clumsy word in it." --The Guardian
"Galguts powerful writing is honest and insightful, polished as it is to a marble-like perfection." --The Globe and Mail
Synopsis
Previously published: London: Atlantic, 2010.
Synopsis
"Beneath Damon's physical anxieties churns a search for identity and a desire to shed 'all the ballast of familiar life.'"
-The New Yorker
In this Booker Prize-shortlisted novel from acclaimed South African writer Damon Galgut, a young loner travels across eastern Africa, Switzerland, Greece, and India. Unsure what he's after, and reluctant to return home, he follows the paths of travelers he meets along the way. Each new encounter during his journey leads him closer to confronting his own identity.
In a Strange Room is a brilliant, stylish novel of anger and compassion, longing and thwarted desire, and a hauntingly beautiful evocation of life on the road.
"A taut, mesmerizing novel."-Adam Langer, The New York Times
"A spare and careful narrative of the innate search for the unnamable, of a restless traveler with a growing sense of gravity."
-Los Angeles Times
"A powerful, genius work."-The Rumpus
Synopsis
A Man Booker Prize finalist: "This tale of ill-fated journeys through Greece, Africa and India shows" the author of The Quarry "at a superb new high" (The Guardian).
In this newest novel from South African writer Damon Galgut, a young loner travels across eastern Africa, Europe, and India. Unsure what he's after, and reluctant to return home, he follows the paths of travelers he meets along the way. Each new encounter--with an enigmatic stranger, a group of careless backpackers, and a woman on the verge--leads him closer to confronting his own identity. Traversing the quiet of wilderness and the frenzy of border crossings, every new direction is tinged with surmounting mourning, as he is propelled toward a tragic conclusion.
Shortlisted for the 2010 Man Booker Prize, In a Strange Room is a hauntingly beautiful evocation of life on the road. It was first published in the Paris Review in three parts--"The Follower," "The Lover," and "The Guardian"--one of which was selected for a National Magazine Award and another for the O. Henry Prize.