DARRAGH McKEON

Moscow, 1986 

 

In a run-down apartment block, a piano prodigy practices silently to avoid disturbing the neighbours.

In a factory, his aunt makes car parts, hiding her dissident past.

In the hospital, a talented surgeon buries himself in his work.

 

And in a village in Ukraine, a boy wakes up to a sky of deepest crimson.

 

Outside, in the fields, the cattle's ears are dripping blood.

Ten miles away, at the Chernobyl Power Plant, something unimaginable has happened.

Now their lives will change forever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘Brilliantly imagined, exhilarating in its sweep; McKeon creates a thrilling appearance of ease, 

while he delves deep and forges new territory for the contemporary novel.

Daring, generous and beautifully written, All That Is Solid Melts Into Air marks the beginning

of a truly significant career.

 

I cannot say it loud enough: McKeon is here to stay.’

 

Colum McCann

 

‘This daring and ambitious novel blends historical epic and love story with a moving description of the

Chernobyl disaster and the fall of the Soviet Union. A book rich with resonance far beyond its historical moment.’

 

Colm Tóibín