MelmothObserver best fiction book of the year 2018 Shortlisted for the 2019 Dylan Thomas Prize Oh friend, take my hand I've been so lonely! One winter night in Prague, Helen Franklin encounters her friend Karel, half mad with fear. He has come into possession of a mysterious old manuscript, filled with testimonies that speak to Helen from 17th century England, wartime Czechoslovakia, the sweat soaked streets of Manila, and 1920s Turkey. All of them tell of