Darke
- 1 Feb 2018
- 9781782119395
- £9.99
- 320 pp
- 129×198mm
In a few words
A daringly entertaining debut about the nature of a good life, and a good death
An original and bleakly funny portrait of grief
A supreme example of a natural and skilled storyteller
Colm Toibin
More about
the book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE AUTHORS’ CLUB BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD
SHORTLISTED FOR THE McKITTERICK PRIZE
Dr James Darke has expelled himself from the world. He writes compulsively in his ‘coming of old age’ journal; he eats little, drinks and smokes a lot; he tries to console himself with the wisdom of the great thinkers and poets, yet finds nothing but disappointment. But cracks of light start to appear in his carefully managed darkness – the tender, bruised filaments of love for his daughter and grandson.
With scalding prose, ruthless intelligence and an unforgettably vivid protagonist, Darke confronts some of humanity’s greatest and most uncomfortable questions about how we choose to live, and to die.
Surprising . . . with a warmth that is genuinely and unexpectedly moving
A wondrous book with two fathers, Kingsley Amis and Dante
Sebastian Barry
Makes for dark, thrilling reading . . . In James Darke, Gekoski has created a powerful, raging voice
I was beguiled and charmed by the vivid personality being revealed. By that, and by the fact that I couldn't stop reading. Gekoski puts words together with a sure touch and deep craftsmanship
Philip Pullman
