Pincher Martin — Philippa Gregory

With an introduction by Philippa Gregory Drowning in the freezing North Atlantic, Christopher Hadley Martin, temporary lieutenant, happens upon a grotesque rock, an island that appears only on weather charts. To drink there is a pool of rain water; to eat there are weeds and sea anemones. Through the long hours with only himself to talk to, Martin must try to assemble the truth of his fate, piece by terrible piece. From the author of Lord of the Flies, Pincher Martin is a terrifying and unforgettable journey into one man''s mind. ''The utmost inventiveness, assurance and power ... Nor reader will soon forget the world it reveals.'' Kingsley Amis ''Like a cold sweat, a day-mare, or going under gas... Prose more tightly packed, more jaggedly concrete, I can''t imagine; and the shock ending ... is technical wizardry of the first order.'' Kenneth Tynan, Observer ''Remarkably sustained imaginative intensity.'' TLS