Jim Crace’s lyrical historical fiction evokes the tragedy of a land pillaged and communities scattered, as England’s fields are irrevocably enclosed
Quarantine
Written by Jim Crace
- Shortlisted
- The Booker Prize 1997
- Published by Picador
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Jim Crace’s imaginative retelling of a biblical story centres on four travellers trapped in the wilderness, and their terrifying battle for survival
Two thousand years ago, four travellers enter the Judean desert to fast and pray for their lost souls. In the blistering heat and barren rocks they encounter the evil merchant Musa - madman, sadist, rapist, even a Satan - who holds them in his tyrannical power. Yet there is another, a faint figure in the distance, fasting for 40 days. A Galilean who they say has the power to work miracles…
Jim Crace
Jim Crace is the prize-winning author of a dozen books, including Continent, winner of the 1986 Whitbread First Novel Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize
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