Synopses & Reviews
Nicholas Flood, an unassuming eighteenth-century London printer, specializes in novelty books -- books that nestle into one another, books comprised of one spare sentence, books that emit the sounds of crashing waves. When his work captures the attention of an eccentric Slovakian count, Flood is summoned to a faraway castle -- a moving labyrinth that embodies the count's obsession with puzzles -- where he is commissioned to create the infinite book, the ultimate never-ending story. Probing the nature of books, the human thirst for knowledge, and the pursuit of immortality, Salamander careens through myth and metaphor as Flood travels the globe in search of materials for the elusive book without end.
Review
"Its all too rare that you pick up a book and find yourself inexorably swept into a different world, thoroughly absorbed in a realm far removed from the here and now....Salamander captivates its readers, holds them spellbound, and persists in memory long after youve turned the final page....Thoroughly absorbing...." Vancouver Sun (British Columbia)
Synopsis
Summoned to Slovakia by an eccentric count who wants to create the "infinite book," 18th-century London printer Nicholas Flood falls in love with the count's only daughter. Their child, Pica, travels around the world with Flood as he searches for the elusive materials needed for the count's "infinite book."
About the Author
Thomas Wharton's first novel, Icefields, won the Writers Guild of Alberta Best First Book Award and the Banff Mountain Book Festival Grand Prize. It is available from Washington Square Press. Wharton lives in Edmonton, Canada, with his wife and children.