Night Boat

On the side of a mountain, in eighteenth century Japan, sits a man in perfect stillness as the summit erupts, spitting fire and molten rock onto the land around him. The man is Hakuin. He will become the world’s most famous teacher of zen. This is not the first time he has seen hell. Hakuin’s quest for truth will call on him to defy his father, to face death, to find love and to lose it. He will ask, what is the sound of one hand clapping? And he will master his greatest fear. Night Boat is the story of his astonishing life.

Reviews of Night Boat

* A brave, ambitious and wonderfully insightful book — KEVIN MacNEIL, author of THE STORNAWAY WAY * A remarkable, and remarkably fine, novel Scotsman * One of Scotland's most accomplished literary talents — The Times * Spence is a visionary — ALI SMITH * Not merely an engaging and vivid historical novel, but also a meditative work of art that is as finely honed as a samurai's sword — John Burnside The Times, on THE PURE LAND * Rattles along, grounded in historical research and filled with emotional truths Daily Mail on THE PURE LAND * Astonishing in its breadth, depth and ambition … a beautifully written modern epic Irish Independent on THE PURE LAND