480 pages
English language
Published May 15, 2023 by Grove/Atlantic, Incorporated, Grove Press.
This book just throws you into a world without preamble or exposition. You're simply asked to take the facts of this world as they come, suspend your disbelief and roll with it. thomasrigby.com/posts/book-review-prophet-helen-macdonald-and-sin-blach%C3%A9/
I have no memory of why I added this to my "to read" list but when I got to it, I had trouble putting it down again and read the entire thing in under two days. The story follows two men: Adam, a CIA agent who has brought being "unnoticeable" to the next level; and Rao, a UK civilian with an uncanny ability to detect what is true or not true. Paired up, they are brought in to investigate an unusual phenomenon: objects are appearing around a military base which appear to have been manifested through sheer nostalgia of the people nearby. From a cassette tape to a teddy bear to an entire greasy spoon diner, the objects have simply appeared with no explanation, and have a captivating effect on the people for whom they embody nostalgia. Together Adam and Rao attempt to get to the bottom of the mystery …
I have no memory of why I added this to my "to read" list but when I got to it, I had trouble putting it down again and read the entire thing in under two days. The story follows two men: Adam, a CIA agent who has brought being "unnoticeable" to the next level; and Rao, a UK civilian with an uncanny ability to detect what is true or not true. Paired up, they are brought in to investigate an unusual phenomenon: objects are appearing around a military base which appear to have been manifested through sheer nostalgia of the people nearby. From a cassette tape to a teddy bear to an entire greasy spoon diner, the objects have simply appeared with no explanation, and have a captivating effect on the people for whom they embody nostalgia. Together Adam and Rao attempt to get to the bottom of the mystery while also attempting to deal with their own problems. Enjoyable, interesting read with quite unpredictable twists all along the way.
