'"There's a north where the white wind blows, where the night wind wails with the voices of the cold and lonesome dead, where the ice bear walks alone and he's never lost..."'

In this north lives Sixteen-Face John, a shaman. He and his wife are expecting their first child, a "soonchild". But there's some problem: Soonchild won't come out. So John sets out to find the World Songs -- the music he knows inspires all soonchildren to leave the womb. On the way, he shifts shape and size, converses with animals and ancestors, faces demons and death -- but always flickering somewhere nearby, is a mysterious golden-eyed presence. Who is Ukpika? And what connection does she have with John's past?

Russel Hoban has written a breathtaking and magical novel -- as exciting as it is spooky, as witty as it is wise. Together with Alexis Deacon's brooding lyrical images, the story told here has the power to burn in the memory long long after the last page is turned...

Condition: Pre-loved book. In good condition.

Format: Hardcover
Year published: 2012
Pages: 142
Sub-genre: Fantasy; literary fiction
Imprint: Walker Books