Caposcripti

by Zelda Rhiando, Unknown Author

A novel about shrunken heads and dropouts, language and voyeurism, set in London and the Amazon basin. Modern London. The photographer is a man ruled by two obsessions. First, to take photographs that speak for him. Second, to make the subjects of those pictures speak to him alone. He is not interested in them as people - their banal tales of joy and suffering. His experiments are to uncover the secrets that they don't know they are keeping. Rewind to Peru in 1851. An explorer is battling to survive in a claustrophobic and unknown world. In flight from modernity he seeks older truths, which he finds in the customs of the Caposcripti. How these secrets survive, and how the photographer uses them in his terrifying experiments is only the beginning of the journey.

262 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 2011

About the author

Zelda Rhiando lives in South London with her husband, two daughters and three cats, and is one of the founders of the Brixton BookJam - the quarterly literary event that has hosted readings by established and emerging writers since 2012.

She is the author of three novels, Caposcripti, Fukushima Dreams, and Night Shift, and is currently working on a fourth. When not writing she can be found child-wrangling and making digital products.

Reviews

[Sandy Beaches · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating! The two narratives in Caposcripti are interlaced in a most macabre design, intricately related to the storing of knowledge, and exploration of power. It's hard to review without spoiling, but all I can say is that you can expect a mythical journey that takes you to some of the darkest corners of the psyche, by way of utopian mysteries. It's quite a journey, highly recommended!

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story, but a little too slow to develop then rather rushed to the final conclusion.