LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE
LONGLISTED FOR THE FOLIO PRIZE
LONGLISTED FOR THE IMPAC DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD
Composer Peter Els opens the door one evening to find the police on his doorstep. His amateur science lab — the latest experiment in his lifelong attempt to find music in the most surprising places — has aroused the suspicions of Homeland Security. Panicked by the raid, Els turns fugitive. As an internet-fuelled hysteria erupts, Els — the 'Bioterrorist Bach' — pays a final visit to the people he loves, those who shaped his musical journey. Together, they hatch a plan to turn this disastrous collision with state security into a work that will reawaken a nationwide audience to the glorious sounds and symphonies that lie hidden all around them.
'Sweet, funny, sad and haunting… A formidably intelligent, ecstatically noisy novel' Guardian
I had no idea what might happen. That’s the trouble with making things. You never do.
