First published 1966
Robert Graves retreats to Majorca's rugged coastline after the brutal trenches of World War I, seeking silence and recovery. His fragile peace shatters when an unexpected visitor pierces his carefully constructed isolation, threatening to unravel the psychological defenses he's built since returning from combat. As tensions mount between Graves and this mysterious intruder, he must confront the raw memories and fractured identity left behind by years of brutal warfare. Trapped between his inner turmoil and the stranger's provocations, Graves faces an impossible choice: continue hiding from his past or risk total psychological exposure.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, psychological-thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: psychological-trauma, unreliable-narrator
Setting: England, Majorca
Period: Great War, Interwar Period
512 pages · Paperback · Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Content warnings: violence, war