**THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER****Winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize**From one kiss comes a chain reaction - a masterpiece of memoir from the winner of the Baillie Gifford and the Booker prize`Extraordinary' Sarah Perry`Masterpiece' Colm T�ib�n`Wholly original. I absolutely loved it' David Nicholls`A brilliant, brilliant book' James RebanksBy way of H. G. Wells and Rebecca West's affair, through 1930s nuclear physics, to Flanagan's father working as a slave labourer near Hiroshima, this chain of events culminates in a young man finding himself trapped in a rapid on a wild river, not knowing if he is to live or to die.`The strangest and most beautiful memoir I've ever read. Magnificent' Tim Winton`Flanagan's finest book... A brilliant meditation on the past of one man and the history that coalesced in his existence' Guardian`Flanagan's portrayal of his quiet, brave father and his loving, resilient mother is exquisite.masterful' Daily Telegraph`Intimate, beautiful, unsparing and profound' Anna Funder
