Phantom Limb
SHORTLISTED FOR THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL BOOK AWARD
Published on 1. August 2024
Book
Hardback
400 pages
978-1-80546-081-7 (ISBN)
Description
'Mesmerising... the work of a writer possessed of a rare power and vision'
Daily Telegraph
One evening, Gillis - a young Scottish minister who technically doesn't believe in god - falls into a hole left by a recently dug up elm tree and discovers an ancient disembodied hand in the soil. He's about to rebury it when the hand... beckons to him. He spirits it back to his manse and gives it pen and paper, whereupon it begins to doodle scratchy and anarchic visions. Somewhere, in the hand's deep history, there lies a story of the Scottish reformation, of art and violence, and of its owner long since dead. But for Gillis, there lies only opportunity: to reinvent himself as a prophet, proclaim the hand a miracle and use it for reasons both sacred and profane... to impress his ex-girlfriend, and to lead himself and his country out of inertia and into a dynamic, glorious future.
Daily Telegraph
One evening, Gillis - a young Scottish minister who technically doesn't believe in god - falls into a hole left by a recently dug up elm tree and discovers an ancient disembodied hand in the soil. He's about to rebury it when the hand... beckons to him. He spirits it back to his manse and gives it pen and paper, whereupon it begins to doodle scratchy and anarchic visions. Somewhere, in the hand's deep history, there lies a story of the Scottish reformation, of art and violence, and of its owner long since dead. But for Gillis, there lies only opportunity: to reinvent himself as a prophet, proclaim the hand a miracle and use it for reasons both sacred and profane... to impress his ex-girlfriend, and to lead himself and his country out of inertia and into a dynamic, glorious future.
Reviews / Votes
A thrillingly unfettered debut... Phantom Limb is its own kind of miraculous relic: disturbing and mesmerising, the work of a writer possessed of a rare power and vision * Daily Telegraph * Wonderfully farcical and apocalyptic... A novel of considerable charm and energy, summoning a mad world that resembles our own * Guardian * Chris Kohler's prose is gorgeous throughout... This excellent debut is well worth the journey * Literary Review * Captivating... A striking, grand vision * Buzz Magazine * With shades of John Byrne and Alasdair Gray, Phantom Limb is to be treasured. A wonderfully strange, full-of-heart debut * Camilla Grudova, Granta Best of Young British Novelist 2023 * At once playful and deeply moving, ancient and shockingly new, Phantom Limb is a tremendous read: full of wisdom, madness, kindness and action. You won't read anything quite like it * Aidan Cottrell-Boyce, author of The End of Nightwork * I hear a voice, singing in the wilderness - its sound is strange and it is beautiful. Chris Kohler's Phantom Limb is the Scottish novel I have been waiting on for so long * Alan Warner, author of Nothing Left to Fear From Hell * Phantom Limb is a chaotic, poignant, grotty, frightening, gleeful cacophony of a book * Lisa McInerney, author of The Rules of Revelation *More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Illustrations
Integrated
Dimensions
Height: 224 mm
Width: 146 mm
Thickness: 36 mm
Weight
1 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80546-081-7 (9781805460817)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
08/2024
Atlantic Books
€8.49
Available for download
Person
Chris Kohler is from Glasgow, Scotland. His short stories have been published in 3AM, Egress, The Stinging Fly, The Moth, Gutter, Dark Mountain and Minor Literatures. He was shortlisted for the VS Pritchett Short Story Prize 2023. Phantom Limb is his debut novel.