Imperium: A Fiction of the South Seas
$14.99
In 1902, a radical vegetarian and nudist from Nuremberg named August Engelhardt set sail for what was then called the Bismarck Archipelago. His destination: the island Kabakon. His goal: to found a colony based on worship of the sun and coconuts. His malnourished body was found on the beach on Kabakon in 1919; he was forty-three years old.
In his first novel to be translated into English, internationally bestselling author Christian Krachht uses the outlandish details of Engelhardt's life to craft a fable about the allure of extremism and its fundamental foolishness. Playing with the tropes of classic adventure tales like Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe, Imperium is funny, bizarre, shocking, and poignant—sometimes all on the same page.
• For readers of Patrick deWitt and Daniel Kehlmann's Measuring the World
• Design named one of the Year's Best Book Covers by The New York Times
• Also a Huffington Post Best Fiction Book of the Year and a World Literature Today Notable Translation
Pan Macmillan acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to lands, waters and communities.
We pay our respect to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today. We honour more than sixty thousand years of storytelling, art and culture.
© Pan Macmillan Australia 2024