The Optimists

A disillusioned photojournalist finds solace close to home in this novel from the award-winning author of Pure.

Clem Glass was a successful photojournalist, firm in the belief that photographs could capture truth and beauty—until he went to Africa and witnessed the aftermath of a genocidal massacre.

Clem returns to London with his faith in human nature shattered and his life derailed. Nothing—work, love, sex—can rouse his interest and no other outlook can restore his faith. The one person Clem is able to connect with is his sister, who has made her own sudden retreat from reality into the shadows of mental illness, and he finds some peace nursing her back to health in rural Somerset. Then, news arrives that offers him the chance to confront the source of his nightmares.

From the celebrated author of Ingenious Pain and Oxygen, this masterfully rendered novel explores the perilously thin line between self-delusion and optimism.