First published 2021
Three friends navigate a transformative year that takes them from London's familiar streets to Oxford's academic halls, the Mediterranean coast of Cap d'Antibes, California's Big Sur, and a rewilded patch of Sussex countryside. Each character chases knowledge for different reasons: some seek pleasure or revelation, others money, sanity, or simple survival. Their pursuits force them to confront uncomfortable truths about human nature and their own limitations. As they move between these varied landscapes, the friends discover that understanding what it means to be alive requires facing both scientific inquiry and personal revelation. The novel weaves together questions of perception and reality while examining how we choose between pursuing new knowledge and avoiding painful truths we already suspect about ourselves and those closest to us. St. Aubyn creates a story where the search for meaning becomes both salvation and trap.
Genres: literary-fiction, contemporary, psychological-thriller, academic
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, pursuit-of-meaning
Setting: London, Oxford, Cap d'Antibes, California, Sussex
Period: 21st-century
Audio CD · Macmillan Audio