In a Strange Room is a brilliant, stylish novel of anger and compassion, longing and thwarted desire, and a hauntingly beautiful evocation of life on the road.
In this newest novel from South African writer Damon Galgut, a young loner travels across eastern Africa, France, Greece and India. Unsure what he’s after, and reluctant to return home, he follows the paths of travelers he meets along the way. Treated as a lover, a follower, a guardian, each new encounter—with an enigmatic stranger, a group of careless backpackers, a woman on the verge—leads him closer to confronting his own identity. Traversing the stillness of wilderness and the frenzy of border crossings, every new direction is tinged with surmounting mourning, as he is propelled toward a tragic conclusion.
Damon Galgut
Damon Galgut was born in Pretoria, South Africa in 1963. A previous novel, The Good Doctor, was a finalist for the Booker Prize and the commonwealth Writer's Prize. His new book, In a Strange Room, has been shortlisted for the 2010 Booker Prize. He lives in Capetown.