The House of Journalists

Finch, Tim

JONATHAN CAPE.

Welcome to the House of Journalists. Who are you and what is your story?
These are the questions that confront newcomers to the House of Journalists, the internationally renowned refuge for writers in exile at the center of this haunting Orwellian novel. Home to a select group of fellows, the House is located in a fashionable London terrace. But just how stable is this hallowed institution? Julian Snowman, the obsessive founder and chair, sees the threat of dissolution at every turn. Perhaps this explains why petty rules and restrictions abide: men live in one wing, women in the other; smoking is restricted to the central courtyard; tea is optional, but everyone attends.
As the fellows strive to remake their lives, they are urged to share their tales. Epic and intimate by turns, these stories―of courage, tragedy, and shame―become a mesmerizing chorus of voices in search of home. Among the fellows are Mustapha, who yearns for the family he tore himself from when he resisted a coup; Agnes, a photojournalist implicated in a brutal civil war; Sonny, a slight figure with don't-mess-with-me hair, who describes a harrowing escape across continents; Edson, who perilously confides his story to his writing mentor; and Mr. Stan, who draws on the noxious cigarettes of his home island, despite having been tortured there.
Only one man manages to guard his past: the mysterious new fellow AA, whose secrecy ratchets up Julian's paranoia. Julian suspects that AA is conspiring with a celebrated visiting writer to bring down the House. In fact, AA is planning something else entirely.
A world as beguiling as it is disturbing, Tim Finch's The House of Journalists is a novel of heartbreak, humanity, and wit, and announces the arrival of a striking new voice in fiction.

The House of Journalists: A Novel

Literature & Fiction

Literary

Farrar. Straus and Giroux

Welcome to the House of Journalists. Who are you and what is your story?These are the questions that confront newcomers to the House of Journalists, the internationally renowned refuge for writers in exile at the center of this haunting Orwellian novel. Home to a select group of fellows, the House is located in a fashionable London terrace. But just how stable is this hallowed institution? Julian Snowman, the obsessive founder and chair, sees the threat of dissolution at every turn. Perhaps this explains why petty rules and restrictions abide: men live in one wing, women in the other; smoking is restricted to the central courtyard; tea is optional, but everyone attends.As the fellows strive to remake their lives, they are urged to share their tales. Epic and intimate by turns, these stories―of courage, tragedy, and shame―become a mesmerizing chorus of voices in search of home. Among the fellows are Mustapha, who yearns for the family he tore himself from when he resisted a coup; Agnes, a photojournalist implicated in a brutal civil war; Sonny, a slight figure with don't-mess-with-me hair, who describes a harrowing escape across continents; Edson, who perilously confides his story to his writing mentor; and Mr. Stan, who draws on the noxious cigarettes of his home island, despite having been tortured there.Only one man manages to guard his past: the mysterious new fellow AA, whose secrecy ratchets up Julian's paranoia. Julian suspects that AA is conspiring with a celebrated visiting writer to bring down the House. In fact, AA is planning something else entirely.A world as beguiling as it is disturbing, Tim Finch's The House of Journalists is a novel of heartbreak, humanity, and wit, and announces the arrival of a striking new voice in fiction.

'A moving and direct study of frailty, love and time and luck and grief' Guardian\nEdvard Behrends is a diplomat, highly regarded for his work on international peace negotiations. Under his arbitration, unimaginable atrocities are coolly dissected; invisible lines, grown taut and frayed with conflict, redrawn.\nIn his latest post, Edvard has been sent to a nondescript hotel in the Tyrol. High up on this mountain, the air is bright and clear.\nHe confides in no one - no one but his wife Anna. Anna, who he loves with all his heart; Anna, always present and yet forever absent.

Peace Talks

Contemporary

Bloomsbury Publishing

Peace Talks EXPORT

BLOOMS

Shortlisted for the 2020 Costa Book Awards A small masterpiece of compression and containment,Peace Talks tells the story of one man's grief, the tribulations of the human heart, and our longing for peace. Edvard Behrends is a highly regarded senior diplomat who has made his reputation as a mediator in international peace negotiations. In his latest post, he has been sent to a resort hotel in the Tyrol. High up on this mountain, the air is bright and clear. When he isn't working, Edvard reads, walks, listens to music. He confides in no one--no one but his wife Anna. Anna, whom he loves with all his heart; Anna, always present and yet forever absent. Reminiscent of Robert Seethaler's work in its formal elegance and emotional heft, of Rachel Cusk's novels in the precision and tenacity of its prose, and of David Szalay's writing in its abiding preoccupations, Finch's new novel is a work of great depth, honesty, wit, beauty, and enduring importance.

Europa Editions

Genre Fiction

Vintage

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