The Man Behind The Curtain

NEW FROM THE BOOKER PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR A stranger in a tuk-tuk plans a terror attack in an island nation. A prisoner plots a jail break during a riot. Four girls meet a hologram of their grandfather. An Englishman, a Dutchman and a Portuguese walk into a Victorian bar. And three spies search for a mole amongst them. Five interconnected tales emerge from a near future Sri Lanka. Together, these puzzle pieces tell a wild and twisty story about family loyalty, personal legacy, nation states, global power, international espionage. And they ask the reader to solve the ultimate question: who the hell's behind it all? Part thriller, part mystery; part tragedy, part absurdist adventure; and alive with unforgettable characters - The Man Behind The Curtain is is a blistering, funny, fast-paced and mind-bending satire from one of our most inventive and enjoyable writers. [This work is adapted and developed from stories that originally appeared in Shehan Karunatilaka's collection The Birth Lottery and Other Surprises, first published by Hachette India in 2022]