A haunting evocation of a post-apocalyptic world where a group of women are kept in a cage with no recollection of how they got there, Harpman's philosophical novel mines notions of time, freedom and the tenacity of hope in abysmal circumstances to captivating effect.
Discover the haunting, heartbreaking post-apocalyptic tale of female friendship and intimacy set in a deserted world.
Deep underground, thirty-nine women are kept in isolation in a cage. Above ground, a world awaits. Has it been abandoned? Devastated by a virus?
Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only vague recollection of their lives before. But, as the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl - the fortieth prisoner - sits alone and outcast in the corner.
Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others' escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground. The woman who will never know men.
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
ISBN: 9781529111798
Number of pages: 208
Weight: 151 g
Dimensions: 198 x 130 x 13 mm
A novel that takes you into philosophically interesting territory… this [is a] intriguingly dark thought experiment told by a compellingly alien voice – dispassionate and unfussy – is strangely fascinating - The Times
A vivid evocation of another world, alive with hope and dignity
A bleak but fascinating postapocalyptic novel… all the loneliness and oblivion of a deserted world won't stop us from following the narrator as far as she can go
A vivid evocation of another world, alive with hope and dignity in the midst of cruelty and alienation... A haunting testimony from an abandoned planet - Megan Hunter
A consistently gripping experience - TLS
This book is truly an unforgettable reading experience and I know it's one that will stay with me and play on my mind often. The story is very simple – a group of women are and have been locked in a cage guarded... More
This is an incredibly thought provoking and moving novel with a fairly simple plot. Forty women are being kept inside an underground cage for an unknown reason, and being patrolled by male guards.
The story is told...
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A profound and moving piece of dystopian fiction. Its somewhat bleak and minimalist plot is touching and extremely thought provoking. It will certainly stay with you long after reading.
I'm very happy to see...
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