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A daringly entertaining debut about the nature of a good life, and a good death

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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.

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An original and bleakly funny portrait of grief Economist

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Gekoski, Rick
Rick Gekoski is a writer, rare-book dealer and academic. He has written several widely praised non-fiction books including Staying Up, Tolkien´s Gown, Outside of a Dog and Lost, Stolen or Shredded. His debut novel Darke was published in 2017 when Gekoski was 72 years old and was shortlisted for theAuthors´ Club Best First Novel Award.

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