Author Description

Product Description Part moral fable, part Robert Ludlum-style thriller, Unknown is a fast-paced tale of one man's desperate attempt to reclaim his existence--even at the cost of his own life. Martin Harris returns home after a short absence to find that his wife doesn't know him, another man is living in his house under his name, and the neighbors think he's a raving lunatic. Worse, not a single person--family, colleague, or doctor--can vouch for him. Worse still, the impostor shares all of Martin's memories, experiences, and knowledge, down to the last detail. He is, in fact, a more convincing Martin than Martin himself. Is it a conspiracy? Amnesia? Is Martin the victim of an elaborate hoax or of his own paranoid delusion? In his high-powered new novel, Didier van Cauwelaert, the award-winning author of One-Way, explores the illusory nature of identity and the instability of the things we take for granted. Dispossessed of his job, his family, his name, and his very past, Martin Harris is an Everyman caught in an absurd and yet disturbingly convincing nightmare, one that seems to have no exit and that resists every explanation. Review ''Simply thrilling. Its surprising denouement works a retrospective magic.'' -- New York Times Book Review ''The idea driving Unknown is compelling.... The terse prose is unpretentious and the plot full of captivating twists.'' -- San Francisco Chronicle ''[V]an Cauwelaert's convincing little nightmare, a Twilight Zone-ish yarn.'' -- Entertainment Weekly ''A spirited exploration of identity and memory.'' -- Publishers Weekly ''Had Camus trained at the CIA, this is the book he would have written. A hauntingly literary espionage thriller.'' -- Brad Thor, author of State of the Union ''The swift final scene--a breathtaking jete--should surprise even the most jaded fan of thrillers. A little gem