For his second novel, Adrian Duncan plucks the actual Nineteenth-century Russian mathematician Nikolai Lobachevsky from historical past and locations him within the Irish swamp within the early Fifties. THE GEOMETER LOBACHEVSKY (Lilliput, €15). Despatched from Russia to assist at a swamp of Bord na Móna, he’s reunited with Rhatigan, an engineer he met prior to now who advised him a horrible secret. Nikolai is aware of the analysis is flawed, given the swamp’s altering water desk, however his personal state of affairs can also be unstable, given a sinister name he obtained from Moscow. Taking over a brand new identification as a Polish pilgrim, he settles on a small island within the Shannon as his well being fails and he longs to return residence. Duncan skillfully fuses previous and current in a story of betrayal and concern.
