Mobius Dick - Hardcover

Andrew Crumey

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0330419919 ISBN 13: 9780330419918

Publisher: Picador, 2004

Synopsis

A distinctive, witty and hugely inventive novel of ideas by Andrew Crumey. His previous novels have been widely praised and have won several prizes. In MOBIUS DICK, physicist John Ringer, receives a mysterious text message that triggers an investigation into the development of new mobile phone technology in a research facility outside a remote Scottish village. Already the world is becoming a very different place: amnesia, telepathy, false memory and inexplicable coincidences all seem to be occurring more frequently with humorous, brain teasing results. Could quantum experiments have caused the collapse of our universe's space-time continuum? Could the multi layered text we are reading come from another world altogether? Praise for MR. MEE "brilliantly funny celebration of misunderstanding" Michael Holroyd, Sunday Times "Fans of Tom Stoppard and Michael Frayn will relish this novel's puzzles and paradoxes" Hilary Mantel "In short - it's fabulous." Jonathan Coe "Andrew Crumey is one of the most original novelists around." Miranda Seymour, New Statesman "Books Of The Year" "a perfectly manipulated voice. . . deadpan humour . . . all the tangled threads resolve into a beautifully executed pattern which is oddly moving." Roy Foster, Financial Times "Books Of The Year"

About this title

Review

'the most rewarding book I have read all year.' -- Independent On Sunday, 27th June, 2004

Dazzling. -- Suzi Feay, Independent on Sunday

Highly readable -- Martin Gayford, Sunday Telegraph

I loved it! -- Fay Weldon, Radio Four

It is perhaps the only novel about quantum mechanics you could imagine reading while lying on a beach. -- Guardian

...a wise, funny, alert and original novelist who has never disappointed. -- Jonathan Coe

From the Publisher

"Toby Faber’s engaging new book on Antonio Stradivari traces the history of a handful of his instruments–their biographies, who played them, where they went–and through it we learn a lot about how violins are made and the music world. It’s fascinating, accessible, and enjoyable reading."
–Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl with a Pearl Earring

"A captivating book that follows the trail of six of Stradivari’s creations. Like strange totems that cast an irresistible spell, these instruments bring out the best and the worst of those who would own them, and Faber deftly tells the stories in all their rich and surprising detail. Avarice and intrigue compete with generosity and love of music in a drama that Faber brings alive at every turn. An extraordinary accomplishment and a compelling read."
–Thad Carhart, author of The Piano Shop on the Left Bank

"Faber's fresh narrative style will appeal to many readers, specialists included . . . It is full of interesting facts and anecdotes." – Guardian

"an inspired idea for a book. Because these instruments and their players have reputations that have endured, Faber has been able to find fine tales that hang on each of them." – Daily Telegraph

"Faber is chatty, user-friendly, eagerly non-elitist, and minimising of sources, yet his passion for his subject, his painstaking research, his faith in the integrity of musicianship and craftsmanship lift this book above gossip for the string-playing classes." – Financial Times

"more enthralling, earthy and illuminating than any fiction could possibly be . . . Peppered with anecdotes, fascinating detail and a dry English wit Peppered with anecdotes, fascinating detail and a dry English wit" –New York Times

"[Toby Faber] brings to the subject an infectious fascination with Stradivari's life and trade" - Chicago Tribune

About this edition

• Publisher: Picador
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0330419919
• ISBN 13: 9780330419918
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320