A disillusioned photojournalist finds solace close to home. Clem Glass was a successful photojournalist, firm in the belief that photographs could capture truth and beauty-until he went to Africa and witnessed the aftermath of a genocidal massacre. Clem returns to London with his faith in human nature shattered and his life derailed. Nothing-work, love, sex-can rouse his interest and no other outlook can restore his faith. The one person Clem is able to connect with is his sister, who has made her own sudden retreat from reality into the shadows of mental illness, and he finds some peace nursing her back to health in rural Somerset. Then news arrives that offers him the chance to confront the source of his nightmares. From the celebrated author of Ingenious Pain and Oxygen, this is a masterfully rendered novel that explores the perilously thin line between self-delusion and optimism.
"Curious, compelling, and disturbing . . . The reader is aware of being in the presence of a luminous intelligence, allied to literary skill of rare excellence."
The Washington Post Book World
"Once again Miller shows himself to be an acutely sensitive observer of life at a particular moment in history . . . [His] inventive yet unobtrusive prose conveys a richly complex reality filtered through Clem's stunned consciousness."
The Wall Street Journal
"A writer of verve and talent . . . [Miller's] prose is fluent, ucid and radiant."
