Author:Panos Karnezis
Anatolia, 1922. Pursued by a Turkish army after three years of Greek occupation, a retreating Greek brigade has lost its way. Commanded by a brigadier with a passion for Greek mythology and a secret addiction to morphine, the brigade's only chance of salvation is to reach the Mediterranean coast and sail home. As the army wanders through the inhospitable land, morale crumbles among the troops, a spate of thefts goes unsolved and every man's thoughts retrurn to a terrible act of vengeance committed by the brigade.
Their luck seems to change, when they come across a small town, up until then untouched by the war, where the mayor and schoolteacher are in competition for the favours of the local courtesan and a failed newspaper correspondent is drinking himself to death for lack of a story.
But instead of outrunning its Furies, the brigade brings them to this seemingly idyllic palace, with fateful consequences for soldiers and citizens alike.
Karnezis seems likely to take his place beside the masters of European storytelling
—— Independent on SundayThe Maze confirms Karnezis as an original and important literary voice
—— The TimesWorthy of Graham Greene. [The Maze is] an outlandish, ingeniously constructed novel as powerful and full of surprises as any ancient myth
—— Sunday TelegraphEnchanting... the mad beauty of Karnezis's imagination is entirely his own
—— GuardianExcellent... Assured and sophisticated
—— Sunday TimesUndeniably, distinctively identifiable, vintage Martin
—— Independent on SundayThe novel has a cumulative power and resonates with many reflections about the course of individual destiny in a profoundly cruel universe
—— The TimesThis is Amis writing at the pitch he has reached in Money...remarkable
—— Times Literary SupplementA compelling work of fiction in which learning and imagination are beautifully counterpoised
—— New StatesmanSavage, hilarious, uncannily moving, and true. It's the first novel I've read that burns with all the madness, sadness and refracted terror of right now, and everyone should read it. Right now
—— Jacob PolleyThis is a book which does more than just take you on a journey through the last twenty years. It also has a lot to say about family eccentricities, about childhood and adulthood and the difficulties faced in trying to be either, given the times we live alongside
—— Matt HaigThe book is magnificent, understated, full of gentle mind grenades
—— Cliff JonesFunny and rich and dirty and taut and original. I wanted it to be my biography, but there was way more warmth and invention in it than you could fit in a lifetime
—— David WhitehouseFunny, sad, bewildering and painfully honest, it’s a must-read for all fans of Joe Dunthorne’s Submarine
—— Emerald StreetFunny and true
—— ListWhat a beautifully written first novel. Joe Stretch has a way with words that is intensely captivating… Superb on adolescence, the Nineties, and more
—— William Leith , Evening StandardA consistently amusing hymn to unfulfilled potential which grows more involving and poignant as it goes on
—— Alastair Mabbott , HeraldJim is such a likeable character, unflinchingly recounting in all his worst failures and humiliations
—— Brandon Robshaw , Independent on SundayA funny, wryly observed coming-of-age novel, it will strike a chord with anyone who grew up during the Noughties. It’s full of quirky period details and Jim is an engaging narrator
—— Mail on Sunday
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