Blood Kin
By Ceridwen Dovey
(Penguin (Non-Classics), Paperback, 9780143114826, 192pp.)
Publication Date: February 24, 2009
Other Editions of This Title: Google eBook, Hardcover
Categories: Literary, Political
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Rarely does a debut novel attract the sweeping critical acclaim of Ceridwen Dovey's Blood Kin. Shortlisted for two prestigious awards, this tale centers around a military coup in an unnamed country, with characters who have no names or any identifying physical characteristics. Known simply as the ex-President's chef, barber, and portrait painter, these three men perform their mundane tasks and appear unaware of the atrocities of their employer's regime. But when the President is deposed, the trio are revealed as less than innocent. A deeply chilling yet sensual novel, Blood Kin illustrates Lord Acton's famous quip, "Absolute power corrupts absolutely," and marks the beginning of an illustrious literary career.
Ceridwen Dovey's debut novel, Blood Kin, is being published in thirteen countries. She grew up in South Africa and Australia, and now lives in New York City.
"A precise and terrifying debut novel."
-The New York Times Book Review
"Dovey''s surgical prose and cool apprehension of the machinations of ambition and lust make her a writer to watch."
-O, The Oprah Magazine
"Taut and remarkably self-assured first novel . . . there''s a knowing sensuality to the novel''s sparsely lyric passages."
-Los Angeles Times
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