From the two-time Man Booker winner, the story of the 18th Century Irish giant,
Charles O'Brien. Charles O'Brien, bard and giant. The cynical are moved by his f
lights of romance; the craven stirred by his tales of epic deeds.
But what of
his own story as he is led from Ireland to seek his fortune beyond the seas in
England? The Surprising Irish Giant may be the sensation of the season but only
his compatriots seem to attend to his mythic powers of invention. John Hunter, c
elebrated surgeon and anatomist, buys dead men from the gallows and babies' corp
ses by the inch. Where is a man as unique as The Giant to hide his bones when he
is yet alive? The Giant, O' Brien is an unforgettable novel; lyrical, shocking
and spliced with black comedy.