Darkmans

b" Shortlisted for THE Man BOOKER PRIZE 2007 'An extraordinary writer; we're lucky\nto be alive at the same time as her.'Ali Smith Darkmans is a very modern book,\nset in Ashford [a ridiculously modern town], about two very old-fashioned\nsubjects: love and jealousy. It's also a book about invasion, obsession,\ndisplacement and possession, about comedy, art, prescription drugs and\nchiropody. And the main character? The past, which creeps up on the present and\nwhispers something quite dark quite unspeakable into its ear. The third of\nNicola Barker's visionary narratives of the Thames Gateway, Darkmans is an epic\nnovel of startling originality. "