living memory. "Daring, ambitious, epic, moving". (Colm Toibin). Coloured sheets of paper fall from the sky. This is their first indication that something serious has happened. Each sheet bears a message: you have three hours to evacuate, bring only one suitcase. From their balconies they can see a dark column of smoke rising above the nuclear plant. For the people of Pripyat, these are the last moments they will spend in their homes. For a child piano prodigy, a dissident factory worker, a broken-hearted surgeon and unknowing others, this disaster will change their lives forever..."Shocking, vivid...sweeps with epic confidence across lives". (Sunday Independent). "Astonishing...A page-turner". (Irish Times). "A stunning debut. The reader cannot help but root for a boy genius who, coming from a line of damaged men is now the only hope his mother and aunt have to sustain them." (Guardian). Darragh McKeon was born in 1979 and grew up in the midlands of Ireland. He has worked as a theatre director, and lives in New York. This is his first novel.

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