Permanence

A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE: From the Booker Prize–longlisted author of speculative dreamscapes The Water Cure and Blue Ticket comes the story of an impassioned affair and the city designed to foster it—perfect for fans of I Who Have Never Known Men. “It reads like a dream which is secretly a nightmare. I loved it.” —Vincenzo Latronico, author of Perfection “The kind of book that you’ll want to read in one long gulp, the literary equivalent of a crisp glass of rosé.” —The Sunday Times (London) Clara and Francis are in love, but nobody knows it. For months they have been stealing away from their respective lives, leaving no trace of their relationship behind. Their time together is always excruciatingly sweet and all too short. Until one day they wake up in an apartment neither of them recognizes, with no memory of how they got there. They find themselves in a new, unnamed city, a self-contained sanctuary where adulterers live openly as couples. Here there are fountains and old town squares and perfect cafes with checkered tablecloths.