In these five long stories the world breaks down in an endless cycle of hunger, desperation, violence and domination.

This is a truly radical vision of a dysfunctional yet stubbornly hopeful world, quite unlike any other in contemporary fiction.

'Hostages is a book I'll never forget. Think Flann O'Brien on rocket fuel. It's funny, disconcerting, weird, shocking, a jaw-dropping flashbob of brilliantly written characters as a full-scale riot.' Joseph O'Connor