The Giant O'Brien: A Novel

New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the YearLos Angeles Times Best Book of the Year. London 1782: center of science and commerce home to the newly rich and the desperately poor. In the midst of it all is the Giant OBrien a freak of nature a man of song and story who trusts in myths fairies miracles and little people. He has come from Ireland to exhibit his size for money. OBriens opposite is a man of science the famed anatomist John Hunter who lusts after the Giants corpse as a medical curiosity a boon to the advancement of scientific knowledge.. In her acclaimed novel two-time Man Booker Prize winning author Hilary Mantel tells of the fated convergence of Ireland and England. As belief wrestles knowledge and science wrestles song so The Giant OBrien calls to us from a fork in the road as a tale of time and a timeless tale.