I fell silent. Perhaps in the end it was not something I could explain—the prospect that had briefly opened, the idea that the world might yet be formed or found again. It was only a simple stretch of sand, the same water that lapped on the shore elsewhere. And yet for a brief moment I had felt the landscape around me vibrate with possibility. I had been trying for so long to put things in their place, to draw a line from one thing to the next.
Should we go there? he asked.
I looked up, startled.
Now?
Yes. It’s close. As you know.
I did not reply. Adriaan waved to the waiter, signaling for the bill. I’d been quiet long enough for the silence to take on meaning. I would need to make a decision. Yes, I said softly. He turned around and I saw that in his eyes there was nonetheless a glimmer of hope. That we might yet proceed from here. That this might yet be enough. He reached for my hand, his face turned toward me. And so I said it again. I said yes.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am immensely grateful to the Public Affairs Unit of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and to interpreters Ahmed El Khamloussy and Andrew Constable for sharing their insight and expertise. Thank you also to Hunter Braithwaite for his invaluable research and forensic mind. Although the court that appears in this novel shares certain similarities with the International Criminal Court, it is in no way intended to represent that institution or its activities.
Thank you to Ellen Levine, Laura Perciasepe, Jynne Dilling Martin, Claire McGinnis, Clare Conville, Michal Shavit, Ana Fletcher, and the remarkable teams at Riverhead and Jonathan Cape. Thank you also to Deborah Landau and the community at the Writers House. Large parts of this novel were written at the Santa Maddalena Foundation, and I am grateful to Beatrice Monti, Andrew Sean Greer, and Andrea Bajani for their kindness and support.
Finally, thank you as ever and always, to Hari.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Katie Kitamura's most recent novel, A Separation, was a finalist for the Premio Gregor von Rezzori and a New York Times Notable Book. It was named a best book of the year by over a dozen publications and translated into sixteen languages, and is being adapted for film. Her two previous novels, Gone to the Forest and The Longshot, were both finalists for the New York Public Library's Young Lions Fiction Award. A recipient of fellowships from the Lannan Foundation and Santa Maddalena Foundation, Katie has written for publications including The New York Times, The Guardian, Granta, BOMB Magazine, Triple Canopy, and Frieze. She teaches in the creative writing program at New York University.