On the Isle of Antioch

Just as Alec Zander finishes his last drawing for the day, the electricity goes out and the radio emits a low, persistent whistle. He fears the worst—nuclear war. Alec, a former lawyer and now a syndicated cartoonist, is one of two inhabitants on the small island of Antioch. The other resident, Ève, is a reclusive writer whose first book was hailed as a prophetic masterpiece. From Alec’s diary entries spanning a month, readers learn that the world has been taken over by a mysterious group known as “the friends of Empedocles” who are intent on disarming nuclear weapons and curing the sick. Even in his isolation Alec makes contact with members of the “friends,” the townsfolk on the mainland, and Ève, with whom he falls in love. In this dystopian novel, Prix Goncourt–winning Lebanese French author Maalouf (The Disoriented) interweaves Greek philosophy with lengthy discussions on war, politics, the United States, medicine, and the unruly nature of humanity. Although some of the discourse appears random and despairing, Maalouf tries to remain positive about the future.