Gerontius - Hardcover

In this delightful novel, which won a Whitbread Prize in 1989, James Hamilton-Paterson joins celebrated British composer Edward Elgar on a cruise on the Amazon River and imagines what artists of the time may have pondered. "Oh Edward what a stupid doltish ass you've been to waste your life on the idea that art--in its small way--can make the least difference to things," he imagines Elgar as commenting. The book isn't merely a collection of questioning ruminations; the cruise is filled with a variety of comical and interesting passengers and crew members.

James Hamilton-Paterson is the author of Seven-Tenths, Three Miles Down and Griefwork, among other books. His work has been translated into many languages. He lives in Italy and the Phillippines.