First published 2018
A woman boards a cruise ship in the Greek islands, accompanying her elderly husband as he teaches his course. She watches other passengers and contemplates motion and stillness. Meanwhile, on a Croatian island, a young father searches desperately for his wife and child who have disappeared without explanation during their family vacation. These contemporary stories weave together with historical accounts spanning centuries. Philip Verheyen, a Dutch anatomist from the 1600s, methodically dissects and illustrates his own severed limb. A former slave becomes an Austrian court figure in the 1700s, only to be preserved and exhibited after death. Chopin's heart travels secretly from Paris back to Warsaw in the 1800s. Each narrative explores the relationship between bodies and movement, examining how people migrate, vanish, and transform across time and geography. The stories reveal how human anatomy connects to larger questions of displacement and belonging.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, contemporary, 21st-century
Vibes: intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: interconnected-stories, non-linear-narrative
Setting: Greece, Croatia, Austria, Paris, Warsaw
Period: 17th Century, 18th Century, 19th Century, 21st Century
417 pages · Paperback · Fitzcaraldo Editions