It arrives on UK shelves as The Book of Science and Antiquities, a more studious and genial appellation, but decidedly less funny. Is The Book of Science and Antiquities a sly existential joke, or an entirely solemn endeavour? As his cancer takes root, Shelby campaigns to return Learned Man to his burial site; but whose legacy is he preserving? The Book of Science and Antiquities lacks JM Coetzee’s caustic cruelty, or Philip Roth’s grotesque libidinousness. • The Book of Science and Antiquities is published by Hodder (RRP £20).

Source: The Guardian May 31, 2019 06:22 UTC