The Separation - Couverture souple

Priest, Christopher

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1941147909 ISBN 13 : 9781941147900

Editeur : Valancourt Books, 2015

Synopsis

Researching the war between Britain and Nazi Germany, which lasted from May 1940 to May 1941, historian Stuart Gratton becomes intrigued by the enigma of J.L. Sawyer, an obscure figure who played a key part in bringing the conflict to its conclusion. As he digs deeper, he discovers there were two J.L. Sawyers - identical twins Jack and Joe, one a fighter pilot and the other a conscientous objector - divided both by their love for the same woman and their attitudes towards the war. But as the brothers' story emerges from books, letters, and diaries, the evidence does not all add up, and there may be an even wider separation between them - divergent realities, in which different possibilities and unexpected truths emerge, and nothing is quite what it seems.

Both a brilliant historical novel about World War II and one of the best works of alternate history ever written, Christopher Priest's The Separation earned the Arthur C. Clarke and BSFA Awards and ranks among his finest achievements. Like his classics The Affirmation and The Prestige, it is an engrossing literary puzzle that will keep readers turning the pages until its startling conclusion.

'An astonishing achievement.' - Locus

'A masterly novel that deserves to become a classic.' - The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

'A complex and enigmatic tale of identity, illusion and deception.' - Glasgow Herald

'Superbly constructed, the prose admirably spare and elegant ... a queasily gripping and intelligent work of fiction.' - Daily Telegraph

'A subtle, unsettling alternative WWII history.' - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

THE SEPARATION is the story of twin brothers, rowers in the 1936 Olympics (where they met Hess, Hitler's deputy); one joins the RAF, and captains a Wellington; he is shot down after a bombing raid on Hamburg and becomes Churchill's aide-de-camp; his twin brother, a pacifist, works with the Red Cross, rescuing bombing victims in London. But this is not a straightforward story of the Second World War: this is an alternate history: the two brothers - both called J.L. Sawyer - live their lives in alternate versions of reality. In one, the Second World War ends as we imagine it did; in the other, thanks to efforts of an eminent team of negotiators headed by Hess, the war ends in 1941.

THE SEPARATION is an emotionally riveting story of how the small man can make a difference; it's a savage critique of Winston Churchill, the man credited as the saviour of Britain and the Western World, and it's a story of how one perceives and shapes the past.

Présentation de l'éditeur

War is a time when the choices of men determine the fate of nations. After winning a bronze in the coxless pairs at the Berlin Olympics, twin brothers return to England arguing bitterly over the coming Second World War. Going their separate ways Jack becomes a pilot, Joe a pacifist working for the Red Cross. As their stories play out, possibilities, parallels and confusion surround them, with each brother finding himself an ordinary man party to momentous events.
With damaged memories and personal prejudices, Joe and Jack's stories exemplify the vacuum of uncertainty in which we live, challenging the reader to confront the consequences that the choices we make have on our lives.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Valancourt Books
• Date d'édition: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1941147909
• ISBN 13: 9781941147900
• Reliure: Broché
• Langue: anglais
• Nombre de pages: 354
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible