The Catastrophist

Gillespie, an Irishman, goes to the Congo in 1959 in pursuit of his beautiful lover In s, a passionate Italian journalist. Unlike her, Gillespie has no interest in the deepening independence crisis, nor in the charismatic leader, Patrice Lumumba. He has other business: this is his last chance to make love work for him.

Short-listed for Whitbread Book Awards: Novel Category 1998

“'This is a historical novel as well as a love story. But with the news from Congo continuing in the same vein nearly 40 years later, it has a lively currency... Like Muldoon, Bennett has gained a great deal by looking at political strife and engagement from a faraway place, from an oblique angle. To quote that poet's verse about Auden and Yeats, it may be the case that "history's a twisted root/ with art its small, translucent fruit/ and never the other way round" but the fruit is beautiful and we see the branch better for looking through it' Giles Foden, The Guardian 4th July 'This is a very well-written and well-researched novel by a writer who is able to maintain a tense and gripping atmosphere of political intrigue and erotic passion' Harry Ritchie, Mail on Sunday 5 July”

A mighty achievement... vision, imagination and gravitas - Times

The Catastrophist Ronan Bennett - coverage to date

'Bennett's writing is as lush and sensual as ripe mangoes. His characters are complex and sympathetic. The tone, which is perfectly pitched, and the exotic setting collude to evoke an era of colonial decadence'

Financial Times 13th/14th June

A writer to watch, a genuine and gifted novelist - Cole Moreton, Independent

As lush and sensual as ripe mangoes - Financial Times

'The finding of a voice and what one says with it is central to The Catastrophist... Along with its politics The Catastrophist is an intensely erotic novel'

Linda Grant Guardian, Wednesday 17th June

'Bennett is a writer to watch, a genuine and gifted novelist'

Independent, Saturday 27th June

I have not read such a good thriller in years - Ian Thomson, Evening Standard

Ronan Bennett was born and brought up in Belfast. He is the author of The Second Prison (which was shortlisted for the Irish Times/Aer Lingus prize) and Overthrown by Strangers. He has written screenplays for film and television, including the acclaimed Face, directed by Antionia Bird, and is currently working on an adaptation of Seamus Deane's Booker shortlisted Reading in the Dark.

Gillespie, an Irishman, goes to the Congo in 1959 in pursuit of his beautiful lover In s, a passionate Italian journalist. Unlike her, Gillespie has no interest in the deepening independence crisis, nor in the charismatic leader, Patrice Lumumba. He has other business: this is his last chance to make love work for him.

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