Devotion - Tapa dura

'Intelligent, poetic writing.. Barber weaves together the struggles of these complex characters with taut, high-stakes encounters in episodic chapters, making this a pacy novel in spite of the weighty subject matter; and barely a word is misplaced' * TLS * 'Animated with fascinating, troubling ideas' * Guardian * 'Provocative...her lyrical touch is felt throughout, enlivening...a meditation on loss with beauty and even humour'. * Financial Times * 'Barber's prose is compelling and she brings a real sympathy to Logan's character in particular'. * Independent * 'thoughtful, intelligent' * Literary Review *

The new novel from the award-winning author of The Marlowe Papers April is angry. Dr Finlay Logan is broken. Only nineteen, April is an elective mute, accused of a religiously motivated atrocity. Logan, a borderline suicidal criminal psychologist, must assess her sanity in a world where - ten years after the death of Richard Dawkins - moves have been made to classify religious fundamentalism as a form of mental illness. Asking fundamental questions about the nature of reality, Barber skillfully explores the balance between the emotional and rational sides of human experience. Told in Ros Barber's trademark mesmerizing prose, Devotion is an extraordinary, provocative novel from one of the brightest rising stars in fiction.