Darkmans

Nicola Barker’s startling visionary narrative. If history is just a sick joke that keeps repeating itself, then who exactly is telling it - and why?

Darkmans is a very modern book, set in Ashford (a ridiculously modern town), about two very old-fashioned subjects: love and jealousy. It’s also a book about invasion, obsession, displacement and possession, about comedy, art, prescription drugs and chiropody. And the main character? The past, which creeps up on the present and whispers something quite dark - quite unspeakable - into its ear.

"Still, this is a heavy thesis with which to frame a novel, and the book won’t be to everyone’s taste, especially those who need their novels to get somewhere quickly. “Darkmans” is for readers who enjoy nimble wordplay; for those patient enough to wait as the characters’ lives slowly intersect and draw closer to an ensemble encounter that, unfortunately for Harve’s shiny Toyota, brings the house down."  -  Nick Owchar, Los Angeles Times

Nicola Barker was named as one of the 20 Best Young British Novelists by Granta in 2005. She has written numerous novels and collections of short stories. Her first novel Reversed Forecast (1990) was followed by Small Holdings (1995). Her third novel Wide Open (1998) won the IMPAC Prize. Clear was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2004 and Darkmans in 2007, the 2008 Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Award and won the Hawthornden Prize for 2008.