Children of Radium

The best book I’ve read in the past year . . . Dunthorne brings distinction and finesse to every sentence, such as when he speaks of the old man’s depression, “washing dishes as if trying to drown them”. A masterpiece . . . It will be huge * Financial Times * Finely and gently crafted, an extraordinary and unexpected journey -- Philippe Sands Wry, elliptical, hair-raising... A gripping story of family secrets and chemical warfare, it is also a tale of one writer’s search for a reliable past. Deep in these pages you discover a travelogue of lucid suspicions, brilliantly pursued, where historical truths are finally brought into the light. The first-rate poet and novelist is ever-present, bringing images and psychic dimensions to the book that are simply unforgettable. Joe Dunthorne has written a contemporary classic -- Andrew O’Hagan Devastating and brilliant. A complex but hugely readable story that ranges across the lingering half-life of twentieth century European history, all told with Joe Dunthorne’s trademark dry wit. It’s a cracker -- Jon McGregor An investigative memoir like no other. Written with such clear-eyed intelligence, it's by turns wryly entertaining, morally complex and, ultimately, profoundly moving. A remarkable achievement from a writer who is consistently at the top of his game -- Nathan Filer Beautifully crafted and deeply moving, a work of searching intelligence, unstinting honesty and disarming wit. Somehow Joe Dunthorne manages to wrest compassion and human connection from some of the bleakest moments of modern history. This is a revelatory book -- Ekow Eshun A deft, brilliant, deceptive book, somehow both devastating and hilarious. Dunthorne's family story is the best kind: both personal and universal, told with the darkest comedy and deep humanity. It is also a version of history at its most slippery, shaped by the flawed memories of the people we love and our own wayward attempts to make sense of them -- Sophie Elmhirst Moving, funny, disturbing and deeply surprising, an action-packed meditation and a moral adventure story, full of the kinds of intimate and historical contradictions we all live with in one way or another. Like Primo Levi’s Gray Zone, the territory this book explores is defined by its ambiguity and complexity, and we are lucky to have a writer of Dunthorne’s enormous gifts to lead us on the trail -- Sam Lipsyte Brave, beautiful and incisive, an adventure that spans countries and resonates across generations. I have read many memoirs of the war and have never encountered anything like this. Lyrical but unflinching, this is an extraordinary book -- Ariana Neumann A staggering, genre-defining achievement . . . Children of Radium is delivered with radical honesty and self-deprecation that I found both intellectually and spiritually instructive. The opposite of propaganda has to be this persistent, courageous and meticulous search for the truth, against the odds, against the efforts of entire states, and against our instincts to present things in as mild and flattering a light as possible . . . Utterly moving, urgent and nuanced by the wisest of hearts -- Luke Kennard