The Lockmaster: A Short Story of Killing (The German List) - Hardcover

Ransmayr, Christoph

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1803093706 ISBN 13: 9781803093703

Publisher: Seagull Books London Ltd, 2024

Synopsis

A suspenseful novel that delves into the complexities of a father-son relationship and the timeless themes of guilt and forgiveness.
 
A longboat plummets over the Great Falls, drowning the five passengers on board. The Lockmaster, the heir to an ancient title and responsible for guiding river traffic safely around this natural barrier on the White River, ought to have prevented this tragedy. His son is convinced that it was not an accident. Is his irascible father a murderer? A hydraulic engineer all too familiar with the brute force of rivers, he sets out to discover the truth and find his missing father.
 
The Lockmaster is a dramatic tale set in a world where water has become a precious commodity and Europe has fractured into warring ethno-nationalist entities desperate to uphold the traditions and insignia of a so-called glorious bygone era. Christoph Ransmayr recounts this story in his trademark style, its epic force shot through with visions of future technology and reactionary politics amid a climate breakdown. At heart, though, this novel is the story of a father–son relationship straddling the fault lines between past and present, and an exploration of timeless questions of guilt and forgiveness.

About this title

About the Author

Christoph Ransmayr is an Austrian author whose books have been translated into more than thirty languages. His prodigious travels provided the material for Atlas of an Anxious Man, and his novel The Flying Mountain, both published by Seagull Books. Simon Pare is a translator from French and German living near Zurich.

Edition details

• Publisher: Seagull Books London Ltd
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1803093706
• ISBN 13: 9781803093703
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 200