Ness

A new collaboration between the bestselling creators of Holloway, Robert Macfarlane, and Stanley Donwood, Ness is an aftertime song that explores what happens when land comes to life. It is part-novella, part-prose-poem, part-mystery play, and is written by Robert Macfarlane and illustrated by Stanley Donwood.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 96 pages
Publication date: 04 November 2021
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Eerie, unsettling, and hauntingly beautiful, a new collaboration from the bestselling creators of Holloway, Robert Macfarlane, and Stanley Donwood takes literature to unexpected heights. Beyond poetry, beyond the word, beyond the bomb, Ness is an aftertime song that transcends conventional boundaries. Set on a salt-and-shingle island, within the ruins of The Green Chapel, The Armourer is conducting a ritual with dark intentions. However, something is on the way to halt him.

Five more-than-human forms are journeying across land, sea, and time, converging towards The Green Chapel, where they will merge and become Ness. Ness, with lichen skin and willow-bones, is a creature composed of tidal drift, green moss, and deep time. His eyes are hagstones, and he communicates solely through birds. His mission is to reclaim the island.

What transpires when land comes to life? What circumstances would prompt land to require life? Through the combination of word and image, Macfarlane and Donwood have crafted a minor modern myth that captivates and challenges the reader. Part-novella, part-prose-poem, part-mystery play, Ness showcases the remarkable skills of these two artists, resulting in a dazzling and troubling effect.

Robert Macfarlane is a renowned author known for his works such as The Lost Words with Jackie Morris, The Old Ways, and Underland. Stanley Donwood, on the other hand, is an artist and the author of books like Slowly Downward, Household Worms, and Bad Island.

Weight: 102g
Dimension: 130 x 197 x 13 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780241986370