Silverback: 'A dark unnerving tale' (John Boyne) - Softcover

Harrison, Phil

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0349728003 ISBN 13: 9780349728001

Publisher: Fleet, 2025

Synopsis

'Visceral and unpredictable, Silverback is doing what novels do best . . . Told with real intelligence, skill and compassion, this is a seriously impressive novel' COLIN WALSH

'Silverback is both a murder mystery and a knottily impressive portrait of a peculiarly Ulster form of masculinity' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

'Highly original . . . Many novels about The Troubles depict the horrors that take place on the street. This one, set at an intriguing remove, exposes the more ambiguous horrors gnawing within' DAILY MAIL

In a Belfast courtroom Robert Rusting is on trial for the murder of his father, a former loyalist hardman. On the jury is James Fechner, a middle-aged surgeon in search of meaning in the hushed rooms of justice, inexplicably drawn to the younger man before him.

After trial, Fechner can't quite return to life before those days in court. In dingy pubs and rowdy boxing halls Fechner inserts himself into Rusting's world in another guise, following a compulsive pull to an aggressive, unapologetic way of life. So begins a close friendship, a relationship in which a battle for control is tacit but unspoken - and explosive.

Silverback is a powerful portrayal of the complications of masculinity and of the line between fragility and violence told in an unforgettable voice.

About this title

About the Author

Phil Harrison is a writer and filmmaker. His debut novel, The First Day, also set in Belfast, was published in 2017.

From the Back Cover

'A dark and unnerving tale told in a spare, clinical tone' John Boyne, Irish Times

In a Belfast courtroom, Robert Rusting is on trial for the murder of his father, former loyalist hardman. On the jury is James Fechner, a middle-aged surgeon searching for meaning in the hushed rooms of justice, inexplicably drawn to the younger man before him.

After trial, Fechner can't quite return to life as usual. In dingy pubs and rowdy boxing halls, Fechner inserts himself into Rusting's world, drawn in by an aggressive, unapologetic way of life. So begins a close friendship, and a tacit - explosive - battle for control.

Silverback is a powerful portrayal of the complications of masculinity and of the line between fragility and violence told in an unforgettable voice.


'Visceral and unpredictable, Silverback is doing what novels do best . . . Told with real intelligence, skill and compassion' Colin Walsh

'Silverback is both a murder mystery and a knottily impressive portrait of a peculiarly Ulster form of masculinity' Sunday Telegraph

'Highly original . . . Many novels about The Troubles depict the horrors that take place on the street. This one exposes the more ambiguous horrors gnawing within' Daily Mail

Edition details

• Publisher: Fleet
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0349728003
• ISBN 13: 9780349728001
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192