A blind chemist lives alone in Sofia. He is old - he has witnessed a whole century of Bulgarian war and setback - and the years have proved a disappointment. Wondering if he has anything to leave the world, Ulrich immerses himself in a spectacular re-imagining of his life. Before the man lost his sight, he read this story in a magazine: a group of explorers came upon a community of parrots speaking the language of a society that had been wiped out in a recent catastrophe. Astonished by their discovery, they put the parrots in cages and sent them home so that linguists could record what remained of the lost language. But the parrots, already traumatised by the devastation they had recently witnessed, died on the way. Ulrich embarks on an epic armchair journey through a century of violent politics, forbidden music, lost love and failed chemistry, finding his way eventually to an astonishing epiphany of tenderness and enlightenment. Publisher: Fourth Estate Year: 2009 Binding: Paperback ISBN: 9780007312771 Condition: Good Note: This image is from a stock photo and may differ from the actual cover.
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