'The most intriguing and thought-provoking novel I have read this year' Clare Colvin, Daily Express 'Highly intelligent ... well worth reading' Adam Lively, Sunday Times 'Farce and intensity blend in a deftly layered version of Hitler's legacy ... Michael Arditti ambitiously tackles the theme of human evil in the history of Europe over the past seventy years. He does so with a touch both curiously light and unambiguously earnest' Melissa Benn, Guardian 'Strikingly original in form ... a remarkable, unsettling book ... a compelling fiction' Jane Shilling, The Times 'What is astonishing in Unity is the grim wit and ironic humour which pervades this deadly serious page-turner ... the reader staggers away from this uncompromising drama of ideas shaken and stirred' Patricia Duncker, Independent 'Chilling in the extremity of its import ... hugely ambitious in its scope, Arditti's novel examines the events and personalities that shape moral character' Neil Norman, Financial Times 'Persuasive, sometimes amusing, sometimes chilling ... a true novel with a strong narrative and acute, sympathetic characterisation' Allan Massie, Scotsman 'This remarkable book ... a strange and engrossing story that has powerful resonances with our own era' Ned Denny, Daily Mail 'The purpose ... is to understand the human appetite for gratuitous cruelty ... the final section ... debates this with a Dostoevskian intentness. The author's love for his creations [is] the only possible antidote to the loveless anti-human behaviour that Unity has been courageous enough to confront' Paul Binding, TLS 'A gripping read packed with intrigue, sex, politics and death. What more could you possibly want?' Wayne Clews, Attitude 'A wonderful novel, written with exceptional knowledge and understanding of past and present Germany'--Gitta Sereny

About the Author

Michael Arditti is a novelist, short story writer and critic. His novels are The Celibate (1993), Pagan and her Parents (Pagan's Father in the USA) (1996), Easter (2000), Unity (2005), A Sea Change (2006), The Enemy of the Good (2009), Jubilate (2011), The Breath of Night (2013), Widows and Orphans (2016), Of Men and Angels (2018) and The Anointed (2020). His short story collection, Good Clean Fun, was published in 2004. He was awarded a Harold Hyam Wingate scholarship in 2000, a Royal Literary Fund fellowship in 2001, an Oppenheim-John Downes memorial award in 2003 and Arts Council awards in 2004 and 2007. He was the Leverhulme artist in residence at the Freud museum in 2008. His novels have been short- and long-listed for several literary awards and Easter won the inaugural Waterstone's Mardi Gras award. In 2012 he was awarded an Honorary DLitt by the University of Chester.

Reviews

A wonderful novel, written with exceptional knowledge and understanding of past and present Germany
*Gitta Sereny*

The most intriguing and thought-provoking novel I have read this year
*Daily Express*

Highly intelligent . . . well worth reading
*Sunday Times*

Farce and intensity blend in a deftly layered version of Hitler's legacy . . . Michael Arditti ambitiously tackles the theme of human evil in the history of Europe over the past seventy years. He does so with a touch both curiously light and unambiguously earnest
*Guardian*

Strikingly original in form . . . a remarkable, unsettling book . . . a compelling fiction
*The Times*

What is astonishing in Unity is the grim wit and ironic humour which pervades this deadly serious page-turner . . . the reader staggers away from this uncompromising drama of ideas shaken and stirred
*Independent*

Chilling in the extremity of its import . . . hugely ambitious in its scope, Arditti's novel examines the events and personalities that shape moral character
*Financial Times*

Remarkable . . . a strange and engrossing story that has powerful resonances with our own era
*Daily Mail*

The purpose . . . is to understand the human appetite for gratuitous cruelty . . . the final section . . . debates this with a Dostoevskian intentness. The author's love for his creations [is] the only possible antidote to the loveless anti-human behaviour that Unity has been courageous enough to confront
*Times Literary Supplement*

This is a deftly written, deeply intelligent and wholly admirable book, full of good ideas and sharp historical sidelights
*Literary Review*