London Orbital

Oct 9, 2024 6:18 PM

Author:Iain Sinclair

London Orbital

London Orbital is Iain Sinclair's exceptional voyage of discovery into the unloved outskirts of the city

'My book of the year. Sentence for sentence, there is no more interesting writer at work in English' John Lanchester, Daily Telegraph

Encircling London like a noose, the M25 is a road to nowhere, but when Iain Sinclair sets out to walk this asphalt loop - keeping within the 'acoustic footprints' - he is determined to find out where the journey will lead him. Stumbling upon converted asylums, industrial and retail parks, ring-fenced government institutions and lost villages, Sinclair discovers a Britain of the fringes, a landscape consumed by developers. London Orbital charts this extraordinary trek and round trip of the soul, revealing the country as you've never seen it before.

'A magnum opus, my book of the year. I urge you to read it. In fact, if you're a Londoner and haven't read it by the end of next year, I suggest you leave' Will Self, Evening Standard

'A journey into the heart of darkness and a fascinating snapshot of who we are, lit by Sinclair's vivid prose. I'm sure it will be read fifty years from now' J. G. Ballard, Observer

Reviews

Caused me to laugh out loud

—— The Times

Cox may not have much to boast about in the field of sporting achievement, but he has what many of his rivals palpably lack: an inner landscape, an imagination. These are terrible handicaps for a golfer, but pretty darn useful in a writer... A very, very good book

—— Daily Telegraph

I'm not a golf fan myself, but Cox is such an enthusiastic writer that he's made me see the sport in a new light

—— Mail on Sunday

Tom Cox writes brilliantly about golf. He knows the game inside-out: its potent allure, its absurd comedy and its mind-bending frustrations. If they had a handicap-system for golf-writers Tom Cox would be scratch

—— William Boyd

One of the funniest books on golf ever written

—— Metro

Razor-sharp insight and buckets of humour - I can't recommend this book highly enough

—— Mark James

A gorgeously comical book

—— Week

At last the work of genius that will finally bring the long-suffering cricket addict a measure of understanding in the world. A wonderful and very funny book

—— Sir Tim Rice

You read the wonderful Michael Simkins with a mixture of horror and delight

—— David Hare

One of Britain's funniest writers

—— Daily Mail

Extremely funny - whether or not you know your bails from your balls

—— Daily Mail

One of the funniest sporting memoirs ever

—— Sunday Telegraph

Almost painfully funny

—— Observer

An all-too honest account of a playing career that just got better and better, despite threatening to go off the rails.

—— Sunday Mercury

An extraordinary book.

—— Irish Independent

Harrowing and brutally honest...a gripping story.

—— Derby Evening Telegraph

Brutally honest.

—— The Irish Post

Less a football autobiography, more repentant confessional.

—— Kevin Hughes , FreeSport

stunning

—— FourFourTwo

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