“Beautiful and hallucinatory…From extreme isolation and suffering springs a vision of universal connectedness.” Wall Street Journal
Winner of the Wellcome Trust Book PrizeShortlisted for the Goldsmiths PrizeShortlisted for the James Tait Black Memorial PrizeLonglisted for the Rathbones Folio PrizeFinalist for the Lambda Literary AwardA London Guardian Best Book of the Year selectionA Wall Street Journal Best Book of the YearA New Scientist magazine selection of Best Books of the YearA London Times Literary Supplement Best Book of the YearAn Australian Book Review Pick of Best Books of the YearOne of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of the Year in FictionSee All +
In Murmur, a hallucinatory masterwork, Will Eaves invites us into the brilliant mind of Alec Pryor, a character inspired by Alan Turing.
Turing, father of artificial intelligence and pioneer of radical new techniques to break the Nazi Enigma cipher during World War II, was later persecuted by the British state for “gross indecency with another male” and forced to undergo chemical castration.
Set during the devastating period before Turing’s suicide, Murmur evokes an extraordinary life, the beauty and sorrows of love, and the nature of consciousness.
Praise
“Beautiful and hallucinatory…From extreme isolation and suffering springs a vision of universal connectedness.” Wall Street Journal
“An extraordinary exploration of dreams, consciousness, science and the future.” New Scientist
“[Murmur] is as bracingly intelligent as it is brave.” The Guardian (London)
“Ambitiously and brilliantly illustrates the relationships between fiction, consciousness, and artificial intelligence.” Australian Book Review
“A deftly crafted read from beginning to end…Extraordinary and unreservedly recommended.” Midwest Book Review
“A wildly inventive and moving exploration of the human mind.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“An exquisite novel…[that] will submerge readers in contemplation and dazzling prose as it captures the essence of mind and matter.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Murmur is a fully achieved literary experiment, digging deep into all the dimensions of human consciousness.” Goldsmiths Prize judge’s citation
Will Eaves is the author of two poetry collections and five novels, including Murmur, the first of his novels to be published in the United States. His work has appeared in the Guardian, New Yorker, and Yale Review, and has been shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and Encore Award. Previously the arts editor of the Times Literary Supplement, Eaves now co-hosts The Neuromantics podcast, teaches writing at the University of Warwick, and lives in London.
Will Eaves is the author of two poetry collections and five novels, including Murmur, the first of his novels to be published in the United States. His work has appeared in the Guardian, New Yorker, and Yale Review, and has been shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and Encore Award. Previously the arts editor of the Times Literary Supplement, Eaves now co-hosts The Neuromantics podcast, teaches writing at the University of Warwick, and lives in London.
Overview
Winner of the Wellcome Trust Book PrizeShortlisted for the Goldsmiths PrizeShortlisted for the James Tait Black Memorial PrizeLonglisted for the Rathbones Folio PrizeFinalist for the Lambda Literary AwardA London Guardian Best Book of the Year selectionA Wall Street Journal Best Book of the YearA New Scientist magazine selection of Best Books of the YearA London Times Literary Supplement Best Book of the YearAn Australian Book Review Pick of Best Books of the YearOne of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of the Year in FictionSee All +
In Murmur, a hallucinatory masterwork, Will Eaves invites us into the brilliant mind of Alec Pryor, a character inspired by Alan Turing.
Turing, father of artificial intelligence and pioneer of radical new techniques to break the Nazi Enigma cipher during World War II, was later persecuted by the British state for “gross indecency with another male” and forced to undergo chemical castration.
Set during the devastating period before Turing’s suicide, Murmur evokes an extraordinary life, the beauty and sorrows of love, and the nature of consciousness.