| Vendor | |
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Liepman Literary Agency
Marc Koralnik |
| Original language | |
| English | |
| Weblink | |
| http://www.cormacjames.com | |
THE SURFACING
THE SURFACING is in places quite literally breathtaking. It is a powerful novel of isolation and impasse, resilience and resistance, exploring the battle between man and an unforgiving environment, and the struggle between the sexes.
The novel is set in the 1850's on The Impetus, an Admiralty ship engaged in the search for Franklin's lost expedition. The men, especially the ship's doctor, DeHaven, and the second in command, Lieutenant Morgan, have doubts about the judgement of their captain, and soon their own vessel becomes trapped in the remote Arctic. Far from all prospect of escape or relief, their situation is further complicated by the fact that a pregnant woman has stowed away on board and she is pregnant with Morgan's child. The power of ambition, what drives human beings to take outrageous physical risks, the nature of courage, and of love in an unforgettable setting, often bleak, sometimes beautiful, always conveyed in brilliant, keenly pared prose. And in addition to Kitty and Morgan and the rest of the crew, the ice itself forms an extraordinary character in its own right sometimes shifting, sometimes stubborn, mostly treacherous. The novel's context is grounded in historical fact including the expedition of Admiralty ships to the Arctic throughout the 1850s to search for Franklin and their rendezvous at Beechey Island, though the characters on The Impetus are fictional. You can see some images of the time on www.cormacjames.com. Cormac James (whose real name is Cormac McCarthy, though sadly, for obvious reasons, he won't be writing under this name!) is a graduate of the UEA Creative Writing course. He has had a previous novel TRACK AND FIELD published by New Island Books. He was the recipient of the largest Literature Bursary awarded in 2010 by the Arts Council of Ireland, on the strength of the opening section of this novel. I understand that John Boyne and Colum McCann were on the awards committee.
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Book
Published 2014-09-01 by Sandstone |