Wreaking

'An immersion in the physical and psychic ruins of a contemporary Britain which enchants and disturbs, lures and repels. The inner poetry and descriptive mastery of James Scudamore's Wreaking are riches that cannot be forgotten. If you only read one novel in coming times, make it this astonishing and deeply moving chronicle.' Alan Warner Three solitary characters remember their shared past in a sprawling, derelict psychiatric hospital on the English coast: a turbulent summer in the aftermath of the hospital's closure that culminated in a shocking, life-altering accident. But the more each tries to comprehend the past, the more elusive it becomes. Wreaking is an intricate, labyrinthine novel about the opiate power of place, the fragility of sanity and the fickle nature of memory. It's about how hard it is to live in the present when the past remains a mystery, and ultimately about how we collude with those we love to forget the harm we inflict. 'A gripping exploration of mental illness? A compelling update of a Gothic novel? The real pleasure of this book is Mr Scudamore's masterly and unflinching prose.' The Economist 'Wreaking itself is drawn brilliantly with both precise and pungent descriptions? The descriptions of teenage boredom by the sea and adult ennui in the city are stingingly realised? Sharply hewn, inventively structured and unnervingly written.' Stuart Evers, Observer