Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2014

‘A magnificent and moving novel’ LOS ANGELES TIMES

Seventy-year-old avant-garde composer Peter Els opens the door one evening to find the police on his doorstep. His home microbiology lab – where he is conducting the latest experiment in his lifelong attempt to find musical patterns in surprising places – has aroused the suspicions of Homeland Security.

Panicked by the raid, Els turns fugitive, earning him the moniker ‘Bioterrorist Bach’. He hatches a daring plan to transform this disastrous collision with the security state into an unforgettable work of art that will reawaken its audience to the sounds all around it.

A gripping escape narrative filled with lyrical wonder, Orfeo is both a portrait of a creative, obsessive man, and a reflection on finding melodies in everyday life.