How to Make a Bomb: A Novel

(Hardback)

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If he suddenly found what surrounded him unbearable, it was because it was artificial Everything had been designed and manufactured, he was trapped in it Philip Notman, a celebrated scientist turned historian, attends a conference in Bergen, Norway. On his return to London and to his wife and son, he finds himself irrevocably changed and unable to settle back into his normal life. Instead, he is overcome with a deep revulsion for the consumerism, powerlessness and emptiness of modern technological civilization. Seeking answers, he flies to Cadiz to unite with Ines, an attractive Spanish academic with whom he shared a connection, and after a chance encounter with a wealthy elderly couple, spends the summer in their house in Crete. But his efforts prove futile. He becomes consumed with his disgust for the modern world and with his feelings of hopelessness for the family that await him. Spiralling further into despair, he feels compelled to take action. He returns to London and finds refuge in a scaffolding yard in Vauxhall. In this fugitive underground existence, using his scientific knowledge, he embarks on a path that could lead to devastating destruction.

Reviews

I devoured [this book] in a single sitting. The sense of dislocation and location made it seem like a dream of another life, all of it so lyrical and yet narratively acute. A wonderful achievement. * Jonathan Lethem *
PRAISE FOR RUPERT THOMSON: Each novel he writes is a new vision of a new world; he's the least predictable, the most surprising of writers. Philip Pullman; Hands down, Rupert Thomson is one of my favourite writers of all time. I impatiently wait for his new novels and he never disappoints. Andrea Wulf; When someone writes as well as Thomson does, it makes you wonder why other people bother. * New Statesman *

Author Bio

Rupert Thomson is one of the most interesting English writers of the past three decades. His astonishing first novels, Dreams of Leaving and The Five Gates of Hell, were among the first books published by Bloomsbury in the late 80s and was praised by authors such as Colm Toibin, Philip Pullman, DBC Pierre and Victoria Hislop. His other books include The Insult, The Book of Revelation, Barcelona Dreaming and Death of a Murderer. In 2013, David Bowie chose The Insult as one of his hundred must-read books of all time.