The Salt Flats - by Rachelle Atalla

Book Synopsis

As heard on BBC Radio 4 - Take Four Books

THE PERFECT ESCAPE. THE PERFECT NIGHTMARE.

Martha and Finn's marriage is hanging by a thread. Martha, crippled by paralyzing climate anxiety, finds herself at odds with Finn, who steadfastly refuses to confront the demons of his past.

In a desperate attempt to repair their relationship, they join a group of privileged tourists on a pilgrimage to The Salt Centre, a mysterious retreat nestled deep within the Bolivian salt flats.

United by a shared quest for spiritual enlightenment, the group embark on a journey guided by an elusive shaman. As a series of salt ceremonies unfold, hallucinogenic episodes force each of them to confront their own versions of reality.

When the final ceremony descends into a nightmare, Martha and Finn are met with an ultimatum. Forced to grapple with the moral implications of their trip they must ask themselves: are some wounds too deep to heal?

PRAISE FOR THE SALT FLATS:

'Original and bold, this is an ambitious and hugely imaginative novel.' Lucie McKnight Hardy
'Gripping, compulsive and deeply deeply human.' Heather Parry
'A superb and spellbinding evocation of an otherworldly place, doused in a creeping sense of horror.' Carole Hailey
'Compulsive and compelling.' Cailean Steed

Review Quotes

In The Salt Flats, Atalla consolidates her status as queen of the claustrophobic character study, finding in the seemingly perfect retreat a pressure cooker to strip her characters right to their respective cores, without ever losing sight of her compassion. A compulsive and thrilling read, Atalla is a major talent to watch.--Charlie Roy

This is a novel for our times, but also for all time, as the complex and fragile humanity at its heart will endure--SNACK Magazine

The Salt Flats is trippy nightmare of a book, a smart, tense thriller written with huge amounts of heart.--Doug Johnstone

Compulsive and compelling, Rachelle Atalla's The Salt Flats is a tour-de-force, a blistering excavation of the lengths to which people will go to both confront and run from the past. A story that will linger with you, and prompts as many questions as it provides answers.--Cailean Steed

Utterly compelling, desolate yet uplifting, and always with one eye on the triumph of the human spirit. A truly terrific novel.--Dr Liam Bell

The Salt Flats is a superb and spellbinding evocation of an otherworldly place, doused in a creeping sense of horror, with a cast of characters who are willing to do almost anything to escape from reality.--Carole Hailey

Immersive, confrontational, intelligent and tender.--Kirsty Logan

The Salt Flats is gripping, compulsive and deeply deeply human. Rachelle Atalla is one of the few writers whose novels I cannot put down.--Heather Parry

Gripping, original and bold, this is an ambitious and hugely imaginative novel in which a growing sense of unease reaches an almost unbearable intensity.--Lucie McKnight Hardy

About the Author

Rachelle Atalla is a Scottish-Egyptian novelist, short story writer and screenwriter based in Glasgow. Her short stories have been published widely in literary anthologies and she is the recipient of a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award. Her first short film screenplay Trifle was commissioned by the Scottish Film & Talent Network and she is developing her first feature length screenplay with BBC Film. The Pharmacist was her first novel and shortlisted for the Scottish Fiction Book of the Year; Thirsty Animals is her second.