Unclay

T. F. Powys is a forgotten genius like no other—and Unclay is his masterpiece New Directions is proud to present one of the most spellbinding novels you will read this year, and certainly the weirdest. First published in 1931, Unclay glows with an unworldly light—Death has come to the small village of Dodder to deliver a parchment with the names of two local mortals and the fatal word unclay upon it. When he loses the precious sheet, he is at a loss, and also free of his errand. Hungry to taste the sweet fruits of human life, Mr. John Death, as he is now known, takes a holiday in Dorsetshire and rests from his reaping. The village teems with the old virtues (love, kindness, patience) and the old sins (lust, avarice, greed). What unfolds is a witty, earthy, metaphysical, and delicious novel of enormous moral force and astonishing beauty. "First published in 1931, the spellbinding novel Unclay glows with an unworldly light. Death has come to the small village of Dodder to deliver a parchment with the names of two local mortals and the fatal word unclay upon it. When he loses the precious sheet, he is at a loss, and also free of his errand. Hungry to taste the sweet fruits of human life, Mr. John Death, as he is now known, takes a holiday in Dorsetshire and rests from his reaping. The startlingly alive natural world basks in summer loveliness, but the village teems with the old sins (lust, avarice, greed)--as well as some loving-kindness. What unfolds is a witty, earthy, metaphysical, and delicious novel of astonishing beauty and moral force"-- Provided by publisher