
A Station on the Path to Somewhere Better
Benjamin Wood(Author)
Scribner UK (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 13. June 2019
Book
Paperback/Softback
368 pages
978-1-4711-2676-5 (ISBN)
Description
From the 2025 Booker-longlisted author of Seascraper
'One of the finest British novelists of his generation' Times
'A huge talent' Hilary Mantel
'Benjamin Wood is a magnificent writer and I intend to read everything he has written' Douglas Stuart
'What a writer' Richard Osman
'With his third novel, Wood's talent has burgeoned spectacularly. The book is a tremendous achievement, an unputdownable domestic thriller that is also subtle and moving ... travelling well beyond his earlier fiction, Wood has produced a tour de force that marks his creative arrival' David Grylls, SUNDAY TIMES
'A novel written from the gut, and with a correspondingly visceral power. A superbly unsettling account of trauma and cautious recovery' SARAH WATERS
'Elegant and disturbing ... this is a novel of expertly woven tension and frightening glimpses into the mind of the deranged other' John Burnside, GUARDIAN
The acclaimed author of Seascaper, Benjamin Wood writes a novel of exceptional force and beauty about the bond between fathers and sons, about the invention and reconciliation of self - weaving a haunting story of violence and love.
For twenty years, Daniel Hardesty has borne the emotional scars of a childhood trauma which he is powerless to undo, which leaves him no peace.
One August morning in 1995, the young Daniel and his estranged father Francis - a character of 'two weathers', of irresistible charm and roiling self-pity - set out on a road trip to the North that seems to represent a chance to salvage their relationship. But with every passing mile, the layers of Fran's mendacity and desperation are exposed, pushing him to acts of violence that will define the rest of his son's life.
Praise for The Ecliptic, shortlisted for the Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award:
'A resounding achievement . . . Rich, beautiful and written by an author of great depth and resource' Edward Docx, Guardian
'Full of suspense and beautifully written, superbly imagined and constructed . . . A terrifically gripping and playful book' Sunday Times
'Exhilarating, earthy, cerebral, frank and unflinching . . . A masterfully paced and suspenseful read' Independent
'A rich, intricate and layered work' Observer
'Haunts the imagination long after the final page' Independent on Sunday
'A gorgeous and harrowing work' Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven
'One of the finest British novelists of his generation' Times
'A huge talent' Hilary Mantel
'Benjamin Wood is a magnificent writer and I intend to read everything he has written' Douglas Stuart
'What a writer' Richard Osman
'With his third novel, Wood's talent has burgeoned spectacularly. The book is a tremendous achievement, an unputdownable domestic thriller that is also subtle and moving ... travelling well beyond his earlier fiction, Wood has produced a tour de force that marks his creative arrival' David Grylls, SUNDAY TIMES
'A novel written from the gut, and with a correspondingly visceral power. A superbly unsettling account of trauma and cautious recovery' SARAH WATERS
'Elegant and disturbing ... this is a novel of expertly woven tension and frightening glimpses into the mind of the deranged other' John Burnside, GUARDIAN
The acclaimed author of Seascaper, Benjamin Wood writes a novel of exceptional force and beauty about the bond between fathers and sons, about the invention and reconciliation of self - weaving a haunting story of violence and love.
For twenty years, Daniel Hardesty has borne the emotional scars of a childhood trauma which he is powerless to undo, which leaves him no peace.
One August morning in 1995, the young Daniel and his estranged father Francis - a character of 'two weathers', of irresistible charm and roiling self-pity - set out on a road trip to the North that seems to represent a chance to salvage their relationship. But with every passing mile, the layers of Fran's mendacity and desperation are exposed, pushing him to acts of violence that will define the rest of his son's life.
Praise for The Ecliptic, shortlisted for the Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award:
'A resounding achievement . . . Rich, beautiful and written by an author of great depth and resource' Edward Docx, Guardian
'Full of suspense and beautifully written, superbly imagined and constructed . . . A terrifically gripping and playful book' Sunday Times
'Exhilarating, earthy, cerebral, frank and unflinching . . . A masterfully paced and suspenseful read' Independent
'A rich, intricate and layered work' Observer
'Haunts the imagination long after the final page' Independent on Sunday
'A gorgeous and harrowing work' Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Simon & Schuster Ltd
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-4711-2676-5 (9781471126765)
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

Benjamin Wood
A Station on the Path to Somewhere Better
E-Book
06/2018
1st Edition
Simon + Schuster LLC
€5.15
Available for download
Person
Benjamin Wood was born in 1981 and grew up in Merseyside. He is the author of five acclaimed novels, including the 2025 Booker-longlisted Seascraper. His works have been shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, the Commonwealth Book Prize, the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award, the RSL Encore Award ,the CWA Gold Dagger Award and the European Union Prize for Literature. In 2014, he won France's Prix du Roman Fnac. He is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at King's College, London, and lives in Surrey with his wife and sons.