Author:Colin Thubron
To the Last City is set deep in the Peruvian Andes, where five ill-prepared travellers - men and women with different values, temperaments and motives - find themselves trekking through one of the most exacting and beautiful regions on earth.
It is a journey which may temper or destroy them. They confront not only their relationships with one another, but also the enigmas of the country's past, the dangers of its present, and the limitations of their own minds and bodies. The 'lost city' of their destination is Vilcabamba, last refuge of the Inca against the Spaniards, subsumed by jungle for four hundred years.
In this brilliant exploration of the psychological challenges of travelling, set within the exotic jungle of South America, Colin Thubron for the first time joins his highly acclaimed talents as a travel writer with his gifts as a novelist.
One of our most compelling contemporary novelists
—— IndependentColin Thubron's voice is unique: once heard, difficult to forget
—— Anita BrooknerA tense, precarious achievement, brilliantly evoking a dangerous journey
—— The TimesIt is the sharpness of the topography that brings this book to life, the handling of the characters is equally impressive... Thubron has captured, with a vividness that few could match...the charms of a journey into the unknown
—— Sunday TelegraphAn intriguing and worthwhile success
—— Times Literary SupplementColin Thubron seems to be a writer undaunted by immensity, either of place or plot... To the Last City is haunting and passionate and, above all, magnificently fearless
—— Observer