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“Full of memorable images and singing lines of prose.” Sarah Waters on Donald S. Murray's previous work
From the author of the multi award-winning Scottish bestseller As the Women Lay Dreaming comes the remarkable “unreliable biography” of serial swindler Karl Einarsson.
As a child of the late nineteenth century in the North Atlantic’s windswept, fog-bound Faroe Islands, Karl Einarsson grows up believing he is superior to his peers, destined for a life of art and adventure. As soon as he is old enough, he sets out for Denmark and begins his own reinvention.
Once untethered from his past, Einarsson’s lies begin to spiral. He begins a life of serial scamming, swindling everyone from fishermen to aristocrats. He has set his sights on Atlantis, but when his schemes find him in 1930s Berlin, for the first time Einarsson is forced to reckon with something bigger than himself. As the Nazis rise to power around him, his indifference becomes unwitting complicity, and even betrayal.
Based on the true story of Karl Einarsson’s life, this is an outlandish tale of island claustrophobia, of those who leave and those who stay behind, and the many dangers of delusions, deceit, and false identities.
“From the first line I know I’m in the hands of a bard and consummate storyteller. The writing is lyrical and hugely descriptive … The history is rich and fascinating.” Historical Novels Review
“One of the most interesting and enjoyable [authors] writing in Scotland today … A fine story, rich in irony, a story of folly and a fool who nevertheless invites one’s sympathy …[Murray’s] most ambitious novel to date.” Allan Massie, Scotsman
Praise for Previous Work
“Full of memorable images and singing lines of prose.” Sarah Waters
"A searing poetic meditation on stoicism and loss." BBC Radio 4
"A powerful novel... A poignant exploration of love, loss and survivor's guilt." Sunday Times
“A moving portrait of a place and its people … a quiet, sad but brilliant novel.” Times, Book of the Month
"Murray is an evocative painter of landscapes and a deeply sympathetic writer... a space for forgotten voices to sound, bearing witness not just to this tragedy, but to the terrible cost of World War I itself." Daily Mail"I loved this book." Douglas Stuart, Booker Prize–winning novelist
"A well-written and well-crafted novel from an author at the height of his powers.” Oban Times
Donald S Murray is a bilingual writer, poet and teacher whose work has been awarded numerous prizes, including The Society of Authors' Paul Torday Memorial Prize and The Callum Macdonald Memorial Award at Scotland's National Book Awards. His acclaimed books bring to life the culture and nature of the Scottish Highlands and Islands, and he appears regularly at literary festivals and on BBC Radio.