This is a book about yoga. Or at least, it was.
January 2015. High on literary success and familial bliss, Emmanuel Carrère embarks on a rigorous ten-day meditative retreat in rural France in search of clarity and material for his next book, which he thinks will be a subtle, upbeat introduction to yoga.
But his trip is cut short, and he is brought down to earth with a thud when he returns to a Paris in turmoil in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack. From then on, Carrère''s life - along with his novel-in-progress - begins to unravel in ever more unexpected ways.
''The story of how a life can fray, tighten itself into a noose, unravel... profound and moving'' Geoff Dyer
''Extraordinarily compelling'' Financial Times