Author:Kenneth J Harvey
Bareneed, Newfoundland, home to a vivid cast of characters who, one by one, come down with a mysterious breathing disorder. As the illness progresses, its victims fall into silence and are gripped by dark thoughts and urges. Meanwhile, the once-thriving cod fishery has been shut down and people find their nets full of bizarre creatures - the incarnations of legendary beasts and characters that existed in the village's tales for generations. One old-timer, Eileen Laracy, gradually makes the connection: the act of breathing is no longer automatic for the inhabitants of Bareneed - out of place and time, they have lost a fundamental part of their identity.
A novel of dazzling ambition and strange, haunting loveliness. Grippingly entertaining and bursting with life, it is an absolute triumph of the storyteller's art. Many books are hyped as "unputdownable". This one really is.
—— Joseph O'ConnorA master of his discipline rightly hailed as one of the best historical novelists writing today
—— Daily ExpressA splendid piece of storytelling and a vivid recreation of a long-dead-world
—— Allan MassieHypnotic, spellbinding
—— The TimesAddictive... Exhilarating... A pleasure
—— Evening StandardMurakami's most addictive fix to date
—— IndependentEngrossing and wildly inventive
—— Times Literary SupplementLaden with philosophical overtones and enchanting wit
—— ObserverMurakami's exquisitely simple prose and deft evocation of the surreal are captivating and sublime
—— Sunday TimesThe mysteries are never tainted by explanation, merely beautifully described, delivering a hypnotic read
—— Times Higher Education SupplementSuch is the exquisite, gossamer construction of Murakami's writing that everything he chooses to describe trembles with symbolic possibility
—— GuardianVintage Murakami [and] easily the most erotic of [his] novels
—— Los Angeles Times Book Review[A] treat...Murakami captures the heartbeat of his generation and draws the reader in so completely you mourn when the story is done
—— Baltimore SunMurakami's most famous coming of age novel of love, loss and longing
—— Dazed and ConfusedCatches the absorption and giddy rush of adolescent love... It is also, for all the tragic momentum and the apparently kamikaze consciousness of many of its characters, often funny and quirkily observed.
—— Times Literary Supplement[A] treat . . . Murakami captures the heartbeat of his generation and draws the reader in so completely you mourn when the story is done.
—— The Baltimore SunOne of the most poignant and evocative novels I have ever read
—— PalantinatePoignant, romantic and hopeless, it beautifully encapsulates heartbreak and loss of faith
—— Sunday Times