The_Blasphemer_Nigel_Farndale
2012 Nominated

The Blasphemer

artwork-image

ABOUT
THE BOOK

He had always been scared of flying. Now, the fear is real. A plane crash. The water is rising over his mouth. In his nostrils. Lungs. As Daniel gasps, he swallows; and punches at his seat-belt. Nancy, the woman he loves, is trapped in her seat. He clambers over her, pushing her face into the headrest. It is a reflex, visceral action made without rational thought…But Daniel Kennedy did it. And already we have judged him from the comfort of our own lives. Almost a hundred years earlier, Daniel’s great-grandfather goes over the top at Passchendaele. A shell explodes, and he wakes up alone and lost in the hell of no-man’s-land. Where are the others? Has he been left behind? And if he doesn’t find his unit, is he a deserter? Love; cowardice; trust; forgiveness. How will any of us behave when we are pushed to extremes? (From Publisher

ABOUT
THE AUTHOR Nigel
Farndale

Nigel Farndale was born in Ripon, North Yorkshire, in 1964. He is the author of six books including The Blasphemer (shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award and selected for the WH Smith Richard and Judy Bookclub) and Haw-Haw: The Tragedy of William and Margaret Joyce (shortlisted for the Whitbread Biography Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize). His appearances on Radio 4 have included Loose Ends, Broadcasting House and Between Ourselves. He has written for various newspapers and magazines, including the Observer, FT, Spectator and Times and has won a British Press Award for his interviews in the Sunday Telegraph. His interview subjects have included Donald Trump, Mick Jagger, the Dalai Lama, Henry Kissinger, Elton John, Prince Charles, Hillary Clinton, Paul McCartney, George Best, Jimmy Savile and Stephen Hawking. Before becoming a writer, Farndale read philosophy for a master’s degree at Durham University. He is the son of a sheep and dairy farmer from Wensleydale, and worked as a farmer there himself for a few years. He now lives on the Hampshire-Sussex border with his wife and their three children. (from RCW Literary Agents)

Nigel Farndale was born in Ripon, North Yorkshire, in 1964. He is the author of six books including The Blasphemer (shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award and selected for the WH Smith Richard and Judy Bookclub) and Haw-Haw: The Tragedy of William and Margaret Joyce (shortlisted for the Whitbread Biography Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize). His appearances on Radio 4 have included Loose Ends, Broadcasting House and Between Ourselves. He has written for various newspapers and magazines, including the Observer, FT, Spectator and Times and has won a British Press Award for his interviews in the Sunday Telegraph. His interview subjects have included Donald Trump, Mick Jagger, the Dalai Lama, Henry Kissinger, Elton John, Prince Charles, Hillary Clinton, Paul McCartney, George Best, Jimmy Savile and Stephen Hawking. Before becoming a writer, Farndale read philosophy for a master’s degree at Durham University. He is the son of a sheep and dairy farmer from Wensleydale, and worked as a farmer there himself for a few years. He now lives on the Hampshire-Sussex border with his wife and their three children. (from RCW Literary Agents)

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NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS

An exquisitely written, thought-provoking novel by an extremely gifted writer.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Country
United Kingdom
Original Language
English
Publisher
Doubleday (UK)

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