"Brilliantly imagined in its harrowing account of the Chernobyl disaster and exhilarating in its sweep, All That Is Solid Melts into Air is a debut to rattle all the windows and open up the ventricles of the heart... . The book is daring, exhilarating, generous and beautifully written." -- Colum McCann
A brilliant and gripping novel set against the tragedy of Chernobyl and the way in which the lives of its survivors were forever changed in its wake. Part historical epic, part love story, it recalls The English Patient in its mix of emotional intimacy and sweeping landscape.
Russia, 1986. On a run-down apartment block in Moscow, a nine-year-old prodigy plays his piano silently for fear of disturbing the neighbors. In a factory on the outskirts of the city, his aunt makes car parts, hiding her dissident past. In a nearby hospital, a surgeon immerses himself in his work, avoiding his failed marriage.
And in a village in Belarus, a teenage boy wakes to a sky of the deepest crimson. Outside, the ears of his neighbor's cattle are dripping blood. Ten miles away, at the Chernobyl Power Plant, something unimaginable has happened. Now their lives will change forever.
An end-of-empire novel charting the collapse of the Soviet Union, All That Is Solid Melts into Air is a riveting and epic love story by a major new talent.
About the Author :
DARRAGH McKEON was born in 1979 and grew up in the midlands of Ireland. His debut novel, All That Is Solid Melts into Air, was published in 2014 to widespread international acclaim and was translated into nine languages. Since then, after travelling extensively, he has returned to live in the west of Ireland.
Simon Prebble has worked extensively on British and American television as both actor and narrator.
Review :
"[A] daring and ambitious novel...rich with resonance far beyond its historical moment."
-- "Colm Tóibín, New York Times bestselling author"
"Brilliantly imagined in its harrowing account of the Chernobyl disaster and exhilarating in its sweep, All That Is Solid Melts into Air is a debut to rattle all the windows and open up the ventricles of the heart...McKeon is here to stay."
-- "Colum McCann, New York Times bestselling author"
"McKeon's fiction serves up, without cliché, what so many futuristic dystopian novels aspire to: a reminder that human beings can bring about their own demise."
-- "Publishers Weekly"
"This debut novel is set in 1986, the year of the catastrophe at Chernobyl, and that disaster serves as the dramatic backdrop for the unfolding of action and character...Serious and thoughtful fiction."
-- "Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"
"This startling debut novel is a love story set against the harrowing tale of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. As the government attempts to downplay and even cover up the catastrophe, people are dying, some quickly, others slowly over years...McKeon's thrilling narrative is matter-of-fact but emotionally powerful, and his convincing characters depict precisely the perseverance of the human spirit in the darkest of times. A promising debut; highly recommended."
-- "Library Journal (starred review)"
