‘A rich, endlessly fascinating book.’ — Philip Pullman

‘One pleasure after another.’ — Gramophone

‘The delightful musings of a wise and worldly polymath.’ — Financial Times, Books of the Year

"Hough’s intermittently poetic prose is as precise as his music. He carefully paints a world of voracious desire and chronic loneliness, as the 60 short, tautly written chapters take us ever further into the protagonist’s mire. . . . Hough’s novel is important, brave, and controversial. It deserves to become a classic of its kind." — Church Times