Alexander Cleave, actor, has left his career and his family behind and banished
himself to his childhood home. He wants to retire from life, but finds this impo
ssible in a house brimming with presences, some ghostly, some undeniably human.
Memories, anxiety for the future and more particularly for his beloved but troub
led daughter, conspire to distract him from his dreaming retirement.
This humane
and beautifully written story tells the tragic tale of a man, intelligent, prep
osterous and vulnerable, who in attempting to bring the performance to a close f
inds himself traveling inevitably towards a devastating denouement. 'This unspar
ing, compassionate, humane book demonstrates again that Banville is in a class o
f his own' - "Spectator". 'A contemporary fable of piercing sadness and melancho
ly beauty...This poetic novel deals with archetypal themes as well as painful tr
uths about parental inadequacy and the limitations of love' - "Sunday Telegraph"
.
