Shuttlecock

Prentis, senior clerk in the 'dead crimes' department of police archives, is becoming more and more confused. Alienated from his wife and children, and obsessed by his father, a wartime hero now the mute inmate of a mental hospital, Prentis feels increasingly unsettled as his enigmatic boss, Mr Quinn, turns his investigation towards him — and his father. Gradually Prentis suspects that his father's breakdown and Quinn's menacing behavior are connected and the link is to be found in his father's memoirs, Shuttlecock. 'Excellent, profound' — Alan Hollinghurst, London Review of Books. 'An astonishing study of forms of guilt, laced with a thread of detection, and puckering now and then into outrageous humor' — Sunday Times. 'A superbly written claustrophobic account of power that corrupts private and public life and of guilt that becomes obsession' — Daily Telegraph. 'Swift's central strength as a writer is his integrity. Story and character are treated with a seriousness and respect that while allowing for the oddity of human behavior — Shuttlecock is thoroughly and beautifully odd — always honors them' — Times Literary Supplement. 'Serious, moving and often very funny indeed' — Observer.