By Louis de Bernieres
November 22, 2023
Sometimes we must look to the past to survive the inevitable.
Q wants a simpler and safer life. His work as a quantum cryptographer for the government has led him to believe a crisis is imminent and he needs somewhere to ride out what’s ahead.
Q buys a ruined farmhouse in Cornwell and begins to build his own self-sufficient haven. Over the course of his challenge he meets the eccentric characters who live on the moors nearby, including the park ranger in charge of the reintroduced lynxes and aurochs that roam the area; a holy man waiting for the Second Coming on a nearby hill; an Arthurian knight; and the amorous ghost of an Edwardian woman who haunts the house.
As life in the cities gets more complicated, and our systems of electronic control begin to fall apart, Q flourishes in the wild countryside. His new way of life brings him back in tune with his family and his sense of who he is. He also grows close to Eva, energetic and enchanting, who is committed to her own quest for love and meaning.
In this entertaining and heart-warming novel Louis de Bernieres makes us reconsider what is really precious in our short and precarious lives.
