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The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again

Winner of the Goldsmiths Prize 2020
3.38 goodreads logo

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( 1,985 ratings, 331 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again by M. John Harrison is a surreal and atmospheric novel set in a post-Brexit Britain. It follows the lives of Shaw and Victoria, whose worlds begin to intertwine with eerie occurrences. As they navigate personal disconnection and societal change, a mysterious and potentially ancient force gradually emerges from the depths, affecting their lives and the landscape around them.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate atmospheric, speculative fiction that weaves together reality and the uncanny. With its intricate blend of the everyday and the fantastical, it explores themes of identity, belonging, and transformation, all underscored by M. John Harrison's evocative prose. Fans of complex narratives that leave room for imagination and interpretation will find it particularly rewarding.

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Modern London and an uncanny presence living in the rivers and canals come together in the first new novel in seven years from one of SF's best-reviewed and most-loved authors.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

WINNER OF THE GOLDSMITHS PRIZE 2020

A New Statesman Book of the Year

'A mesmerising, mysterious book . . . Haunting. Worrying. Beautiful' Russell T. Davis

'Brilliantly unsettling' Olivia Laing

'A magnificent book' Neil Gaiman

'An extraordinary experience' William Gibson

Winner of the Goldsmiths Prize 2020, this is fiction that pushes the boundaries of the novel form.

Shaw had a breakdown, but he's getting himself back together. He has a single room, a job on a decaying London barge, and an on-off affair with a doctor's daughter called Victoria, who claims to have seen her first corpse at age thirteen.

It's not ideal, but it's a life. Or it would be if Shaw hadn't got himself involved in a conspiracy theory that, on dark nights by the river, seems less and less theoretical...

Meanwhile, Victoria is up in the Midlands, renovating her dead mother's house, trying to make new friends. But what, exactly, happened to her mother? Why has the local waitress disappeared into a shallow pool in a field behind the house? And why is the town so obsessed with that old Victorian morality tale, The Water Babies?

As Shaw and Victoria struggle to maintain their relationship, the sunken lands are rising up again, unnoticed in the shadows around them.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

M. John Harrison's The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again has been praised for its unsettling and atmospheric qualities, with reviewers highlighting its ability to capture the enigmatic spaces between reality and fantasy. Critics have noted its beautifully crafted sentences, likening the reading experience to a haunting and deeply unsettling underwater journey. Described as masterful and profoundly affecting, this novel sketches a portrait of post-Brexit Britain with a distinct blend of strangeness, dark humour, and psychogeographic precision.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780575096363

Publisher: Orion Publishing Co

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 15 April 2021

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Gollancz

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 26.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 240g

Pages: 272

About the Author

M. John Harrison (1945 - ) Michael John Harrison is the author of, amongst others, the Viriconium stories, The Centauri Device, Climbers, The Course of the Heart, Signs of Life, Light and Nova Swing. He has won the Boardman Tasker Award (Climbers), the James Tiptree Jr Award (Light) and the Arthur C. Clarke Award (Nova Swing). He lives in Shropshire.

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