A Registry of My Passage Upon the Earth
18 March 2021Synopsis
Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2021
Discover this breathtaking collection of short stories from the bestselling author of North Woods, Daniel Mason.
On a fated flight, a balloonist makes a discovery that changes her life forever. A telegraph operator finds an unexpected companion in the middle of the Amazon. A doctor is beset by seizures, in which he is possessed by a second, perhaps better, version of himself. And in Regency London, a bare-knuckle fighter prepares to face his most fearsome opponent, while a young mother seeks a miraculous cure for her ailing son.
Funny, irreverent and always moving, these stories range from the depths of the Nile to the highest reaches of the atmosphere, from volcano-wracked islands to an asylum on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro . . .
'The grand pleasures of fiction are all here' – The Guardian
'The talent of Daniel Mason - using words in this way is witchcraft, surely' – Elizabeth Macneal, bestselling author of The Doll Factory
'One of the finest prose stylists in American fiction' – The New York Times
Details
18 March 2021
9781529038507Reviews
One of the finest prose stylists in American fictionNew York Times
Nine tales of human endurance, accomplishment, and epiphany told with style and brio. Mason is one of our best historical novelists, creating panoramas of rich detail, propulsive plot, and artful character development in novels such as The Piano Tuner and The Winter Soldier. In his first story collection, he shows how quickly and completely he can immerse readers in a foreign place and time . . . An enchanting cabinet of curiosities and wondersKirkus
I've given up picking perfect sentences to read aloud and am now just reciting the entire book. The talent of Daniel Mason - using words in this way is witchcraft, surelyElizabeth Macneal, author of The Doll Factory
Unique and beguiling... Mason's first short story collection is a treasure trove of lush scene setting in faraway times and places, from the wilds of England to the Malay Archipelago... A perfect and fitting pick for these seemingly endless days when science, our understanding of reality and a faint longing for human connection are so irrevocably intertwinedSan Francisco Chronicle
