The Surfacing - Softcover

James, Cormac

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1908737980 ISBN 13: 9781908737984

Publisher: Sandstone Press Ltd, 2014

Synopsis

Hand over hand, Petersen drew the rope out of the water. The gap between the two ice pans was barely a foot wide. Morgan watched the man coiling the rope nicely onto the ice. Inside him, a stupid hope had already bred, that the boy might still be attached to the end of it. He would come up laughing and spluttering, amused as much as relieved.Morgan is second-in-command of the brig Impetus, dispatched in 185o to the Arctic in search of Franklin’s lost expedition. It is late in the year and the ice is closing in when Morgan, ensconced in this wholly masculine world, learns that the ship is carrying a stowaway—a woman. Pregnant with his child.It is too late to turn back. The child will be born into this vast frozen wilderness. And Morgan must set out on a voyage of deliverance across a bleak expanse as shifting, stubborn and treacherous as human nature itself.

About this title

About the Author

Cormac James was born in Cork, Ireland. A graduate of the UEA Creative Writing MA, he has published short fiction in Columbia, Phoenix Irish Short Stories, and The Dublin Review. His first novel, Track and Field, was published in 2000. He lives in Montpellier, France, with his wife and son

Review

'Cormac James's writing is very assured, with a harsh poetic edge. His evocations of barren landscape, sea weather, pack ice, frozen skies are terrific. He takes the reader there.' Rose Tremain 'An extraordinary novel, combining a powerful narrative with a considered and poetic use of language in a way that is not often seen these days. Reading the book, I recalled the dramatic natural landscape of Jack London and the wild untamed seas of William Golding. Cormac James' writing is ambitious enough to be compared with either.' John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas 'The great topic of Cormac James' THE SURFACING is the reach of human possibility. The prose is calm, vivid, hypnotic and acutely piercing. James is attuned to the psychological moment: this is a book about fatherhood and all its attendant terrors. James recognises the surfacing of love in the face of solitude. It's a remarkable achievement, a stylish novel, full of music and quiet control. This is a writer that I'd like to see hurry - I'm looking forward already to the next book.' Colum McCann

Edition details

• Publisher: Sandstone Press Ltd
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1908737980
• ISBN 13: 9781908737984
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368