John Burnside's first novel, his profoundly disturbing and beautifully written story of scientific curiosity gone awry
As a child, Luke’s mother often tells him the story of the Dumb House, an experiment on newborn babies raised in silence, designed to test the innateness of language.
Paperback
PRODUCT INFORMATION
Summary
John Burnside's first novel, his profoundly disturbing and beautifully written story of scientific curiosity gone awry
As a child, Luke’s mother often tells him the story of the Dumb House, an experiment on newborn babies raised in silence, designed to test the innateness of language.
Description
John Burnside's first novel, his profoundly disturbing and beautifully written story of scientific curiosity gone awryAs a child, Luke's mother often tells him the story of the Dumb House, an experiment on newborn babies raised in silence, designed to test the innateness of language.As Luke grows up, his interest in language and the delicate balance of life and death leads to amateur dissections of small animals - tiny hearts revealed still pumping, as life trickles away. But as an adult, following the death of his mother, Luke's obsession deepens, resulting in a haunting and bizarre experiment on Luke's own children.'A wonderfully disturbing book - chillingly focused and lyrically amoral with moments of remarkable stillness and beauty.' A.L. Kennedy'Burnside's prose is exquisite, and he dissects his themes with delicacy to produce a novel resonant with poetic menace' Sunday Times
Critic Reviews
“"A wonderfully disturbing book--chillingly focused and lyrically amoral with moments of remarkable stillness and beauty. A poetic novel in the best and most troubling sense."”
Compelling reading Scotsman
A wonderfully disturbing book - chillingly focused and lyrically amoral with moments of remarkable stillness and beauty. A poetic novel in the best and most troubling sense -- A. L. Kennedy
Burnside's prose is exquisite and he dissects his themes with delicacy to produce a novel resonant with poetic menace Sunday Times
An exceptionally sinister book... It is the story of Luke, whose experiments into the nature of human language are recounted with all the beguiling reasonableness of the highly intelligent madman... The horror is tempered and fine-tuned by the exceptional beauty of Burnside's writing... In Luke, Burnside has produced one of the most chilling voices in recent fiction Times Literary Supplement
My favourite book of the year Jen Campbell’s vlog
About the Author
John Burnside was among the most acclaimed writers of his generation. His novels, short stories, poetry and memoirs won numerous awards, including the Geoffrey Faber Memorial, Saltire Scottish Book of the Year and, in 2023, he received the David Cohen Prize for a lifetime's achievement in literature. In 2011 Black Cat Bone won both the Forward and the T.S. Eliot Prizes for poetry. He died in 2024.
Back Cover
'Burnside's prose is exquisite and he dissects his themes with delicacy to produce a novel resonant with poetic menace' Sunday Times As a child, Luke's mother often tells him the story of the Dumb House, an experiment on newborn babies raised in silence, designed to test the innateness of language. As Luke grows up, his interest in language and the delicate balance of life and death leads to amateur dissections of small animals - tiny hearts revealed still pumping, as life trickles away. But as an adult, following the death of his mother, Luke's obsession deepens, resulting in a haunting and bizarre experiment on Luke's own children. 'A poetic novel in the best and most troubling sense' A. L. Kennedy See also: Paradise
Product Details
Returns
This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.
