During the fall of 1969 Daniel Dyer stands alone at a still point between the disappointments of his childhood and an incredibly uncertain future. He is a boy from Yorkshire, living in America who has been abandoned by his father and then his mother and has signed up to fight with the US army in Vietnam. The Far Out Cafe is full of characters and events: a blues singer, a Cuban called Guerrero and another called Compay, with his head full of conspiracy theories, Birdmen, a chapel dating back to the 2nd century, an isolated island, a pack of marauding sharks; one of mythical proportions, a psychotic Soviet called the Generali, a barbaric guard called Rusanov and his syphilitic assistant, Yefrem.
This is not merely a story about the atrocities of war. It’s a story about who Daniel meets when he has been left for dead; a boy called Angel and a girl called Beth. It’s about the way we live our lives and what happens when we place our Faith in God when things go horribly wrong. It’s a savage yet tenderly lyrical story about an unforgiving time and indestructible love.
