A luminous and unforgettable first novel by an astonishing new voice in
fiction, hailed by Esquire magazine as "one of America's best young
writers."
Samson Greene, a young and popular professor at Columbia, is found
wandering in the Nevada desert. When his wife**,** Anna**,** comes to
bring him home, she finds a man who remembers nothing, not even his own
name. The removal of a small brain tumor saves his life, but his
memories beyond the age of twelve are permanently lost.
Here is the story of a keenly intelligent, sensitive man returned to a
life in which everything is strange and new. An emigrant from his own
life, set free from all that once defined him, Samson Greene believes he
has nothing left to lose. So, when a charismatic scientist asks him to
participate in a bold experiment, he agrees. Launched into a turbulent
journey that takes him to the furthest extremes of solitude and
intimacy, what he gains is nothing short of the revelation of what it
means to be human.