Dreams of Rivers and Seas - Softcover

Tim Parks

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0099513366 ISBN 13: 9780099513360

Publisher: Vintage Books USA, 2009

Synopsis

'For some time now, I have been plagued, perhaps blessed, by dreams of rivers and seas, dreams of water'. Just days after Albert James writes these lines to his son John, in London, he is dead. Abandoning a pretty girlfriend and the lab where he is completing his PhD, John flies to Delhi to join his mother in mourning. A brilliant and controversial anthropologist, the nature of Albert James' research, and the circumstances of his death, are far from clear. On top of this, John must confront his mother's coolness, and the strangeness of the cremation ceremony that she has organised for his father. No sooner is the body consigned to the flames than a journalist arrives, determined to write a biography of the dead man. The widow will have nothing to do with the project, yet seems incapable of keeping away from the journalist.In Tim Parks' masterly new novel, India, with its vast strangeness, the density and intensity of its street life, its indifference to all distinctions between the religious and the secular, is a constant source of distraction to these westerners in search of clarity and identity. To John, the enigma of his father's dreams of rivers and seas appears to be one with the greater mystery of the country.

About this title

About the Author

Born in Manchester, Tim Parks grew up in London and studied at Cambridge and Harvard. In 1981 he moved to Italy where he has lived ever since. He is the author of novels, non-fiction and essays, including Europa, Cleaver, A Season with Verona and Teach Us to Sit Still. He has won the Somerset Maugham, Betty Trask and Llewellyn Rhys awards, and been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He lectures on literary translation in Milan, writes for publications such as the New Yorker and the New York Review of Books, and his many translations from the Italian include works by Moravia, Calvino, Calasso, Tabucchi and Machiavelli.

Review

"The originality, power and sheer prolificacy of Parks's production makes the work of his British contemporaries appear trite... His prose can be sparse and lucid, or almost manically convoluted, although beyond the fierce and questioning intelligence are both humour and artfully constructed and invariably gripping plots... In other words it's a big, easily readable book - though with a solidly intellectual core - more than ripe for big prizes" * Independent on Sunday * "A brave book...he shows with this novel, he intimately understands the Western condition, its complexity and fragility" -- Nirpal Dhaliwal * Evening Standard * "Enormously powerful... fiercely intelligent... a gripping and ambiguous novel" * The Times * "A rapidly unfolding mystery that hints at suicide, murder and madness, and builds to a wrenching climax... haunting and accomplished... The finale is unexpected and terrifying" * Guardian * "In the tradition of British writing about India, this novel is a rich, unexpected variation, and a considerable addition" -- Amit Chaudhuri * Financial Times *

Edition details

• Publisher: Vintage Books USA
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0099513366
• ISBN 13: 9780099513360
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448