On the Isle of Antioch

In this dystopian novel about total collapse by internationally renowned author Amin Maalouf, a complete blackout hits a small island with only two solitary inhabitants, who suddenly have to depend on each other.
"Lebanese-born French author Maalouf delivers an elegant portrait of a dying
world. A beguiling, lyrical work of speculative fiction by a writer of
international importance." -Kirkus Reviews, *Starred Review*

Alec, a press artist with an impressive track record, settles on a remote island in the Atlantic Ocean. He has little contact with his neighbor, a solitary woman who wrote a cult book years ago, before withdrawing from public life. That is, until a gigantic power failure cuts them off from the rest of the world, and all of a sudden they find themselves dependent on each other. The world appears to be on the brink of nuclear war and the collapse of civilization seems imminent. Just who are the mysterious friends of Empedocles, the gang of otherworldly protectors who came swooping in to interfere with the US presidency and cure all illness? Should we trust them? On the Isle of Antioch is a suspenseful novel with mythological roots, written in the dreamy language of the classics, by internationally renowned scholar Amin Maalouf.

About the author

AMIN MAALOUF was born in Beirut and lived there until the Lebanese Civil War broke out in 1975. He settled in Paris in 1976 and published his first book, The Crusades Through Arab Eyes, in 1983. In 1993, The Rock of Tanios, his fifth novel, won the Goncourt Prize, the most prestigious literary award in France. Maalouf is a member of the Académie Française and in 2010 was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature for his entire oeuvre. In 2021 he was voted one of 12 International Writers by the Royal Society of Literature, an initiative celebrating the power of literature to transcend borders and bring people together. He was awarded both the Terzani Prize and the Malaparte Prize for Adrift, also published in English by World Editions. His work has been translated into 50 languages and his most recent bestselling novel available in English is The Disoriented.

NATASHA LEHRER is a prizewinning writer, translator, and editor. Her long-form journalism and book reviews have appeared in the Guardian, the Observer, the Times Literary Supplement, the Nation, Haaretz, and Fantastic Man, among others, and she is literary editor of the Jewish Quarterly. She has contributed to several books, including a chapter on France in Looking for an Enemy: 8 Essays on Antisemitism, edited by Jo Glanville. The writers she has translated include Nathalie Léger, Chantal Thomas, Vanessa Springora, Victor Segalen, Robert Desnos, and Georges Bataille.

Summary

In this dystopian novel about total collapse by internationally renowned author Amin Maalouf, a complete blackout hits a small island with only two solitary inhabitants, who suddenly have to depend on each other. "Lebanese-born French author Maalouf delivers an elegant portrait of a dying
world. A beguiling, lyrical work of speculative fiction by a writer of
international importance." —Kirkus Reviews, *Starred Review*

Alec, a press artist with an impressive track record, settles on a remote island in the Atlantic Ocean. He has little contact with his neighbor, a solitary woman who wrote a cult book years ago, before withdrawing from public life. That is, until a gigantic power failure cuts them off from the rest of the world, and all of a sudden they find themselves dependent on each other. The world appears to be on the brink of nuclear war and the collapse of civilization seems imminent. Just who are the mysterious friends of Empedocles, the gang of otherworldly protectors who came swooping in to interfere with the US presidency and cure all illness? Should we trust them? On the Isle of Antioch is a suspenseful novel with mythological roots, written in the dreamy language of the classics, by internationally renowned scholar Amin Maalouf.

Foreword

• A dystopian novel about total collapse, for readers of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam and American War by Omar El Akkad 
• Advance galleys and digital reader copies 
• Digital assets including trailer & author video 
• Signed book plates available 
• National TV, radio, print, and online review campaign 
• Consumer-facing national advertising campaign on Shelf Awareness, Lithub, NPR, Foreword Reviews, Goodreads
• Virtual or in-person author events
• Book club discussion guide
• Bookstore co-op available
• Excerpt placement
• Social-media campaign & Goodreads Giveaway

Product details

• Authors: Amin Maalouf, Maalouf Amin
• Assisted by: Natasha Lehrer (Translation), Lehrer Natasha (Translation)
• Publisher: External catalogues UK
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 05.12.2023
• EAN: 9781642861341
• ISBN: 978-1-64286-134-1
• Dimensions: 127 mm x 202 mm x 21 mm
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature; FICTION / Political, FICTION / Romance / Suspense, FICTION / Dystopian, FICTION / Disaster, Modern & contemporary fiction