博客來本書入圍2013年曼布克獎決選！
夏天即將結束，收割了最後一片麥田，平淡的村莊，完全不知危機即將逼近，陌生的兩男一女在村莊附近的森林搭了帳篷，而當晚村莊便發生了大火，之後他們被逮捕，而故事主角瓦爾特目睹了村莊的重建，但更這一切卻不像表面般單純…（文／博客來編譯）
On the morning after harvest, the inhabitants of a remote English village awaken looking forward to a hard-earned day of rest and feasting at their landowner's table. But the sky is marred by two conspicuous columns of smoke, replacing pleasurable anticipation with alarm and suspicion.
One smoke column is the result of an overnight fire that has damaged the master's outbuildings. The second column rises from the wooded edge of the village, sent up by newcomers to announce their presence. In the minds of the wary villagers a mere coincidence of events appears to be unlikely, with violent confrontation looming as the unavoidable outcome. Meanwhile, another newcomer has recently been spotted taking careful notes and making drawings of the land. It is his presence more than any other that will threaten the village's entire way of life.
In effortless and tender prose, Jim Crace details the unraveling of a pastoral idyll in the wake of economic progress. His tale is timeless and unsettling, framed by a beautifully evoked world that will linger in your memory long after you finish reading.
