In a freezing, isolated Siberia of 1919, James Meek poses a crucial question: under what circumstances is it justifiable to eat another human being?

Welcome to Siberia in 1919. Deep in the unforgiving landscape a town lies under military rule, awaiting the remorseless assault of Bolsheviks along the Trans-Siberian railway. One night a stranger, Samarin, appears from the woods with a tale of escape from an Arctic prison, insisting a cannibal is on his trail. Only Anna, a beautiful young widow, trusts his story. When a local shaman is found dead, suspicion and terror engulf the isolated community, which harbours a secret of its own…

Longlisted
The Man Booker Prize 2005
Published by
Canongate
Publication date
James Meek

James Meek

About the Author

James Meek was born in London and grew up in Dundee. His novel The People’s Act of Love (2005) has been translated into more than twenty languages.
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