Description
Book SynopsisTom Bullough''s Konstantin is a mesmerising novel about how the imagination can inspire the individual to greatness.
1867, Ryazan, a Russian city in winter. Ten-year-old Konstantin, deafened by scarlet fever, dreams of flight - escaping to Moscow, fleeing to the silent stars. And his daring visions, pregnant with humanity''s future, will take him further than anyone could believe.
Moving from wolf-infested forests to the brothels of Moscow, from village life to the wondrous Age of Steam, from appalling tragedy to the discovery of a great love, Konstantin tells the beguiling story of a man who imagined the unimaginable: turning the dream of space travel into a reality.
As vivid and evocative as Hilary Mantel''s Wolf Hall and David Mitchell''s The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, Konstantin is a story of man, nature, and the limitless power of the imagination.
Praise for Konstantin:
''Con
Trade Review
Konstantin is that rare creature, the practical dreamer, a hero at the dawn of modernity. Beautifully written . . . a real achievement -- Andrew Miller, author of 'Pure'
Mesmerizing intensity . . .daring . . . Konstantin fascinatingly brings us an imagined portrait of a boy turning into a man that refuses to give us any simple solutions * TLS *
Enchanting, wonderfully eloquent. A very alluring read * Time Out *
A charming novel, sensitively told * Prospect *
A magnificent piece of writing ... punctuated with moments of beauty and of fascination * Polari Magazine *
Bullough succeeds in translating the science of lunar travel into concrete, apposite and lyrical imagery...Here is a writer with a sculptor's sensibility * New Welsh Review *
A convincing account, lyrical yet exact, of the making of a scientist. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky may not be a household name, but the author has set him squarely before us as a living, thinking, ingenious human being -- John Banville
Wonderful. Historical fiction that wears history lightly * Observer *
Well-written . . . moving and expressive * The Times *
