Nobody Saw No One (29 page)
Authors: Steve Tasane
PEOPLES KEEP DYIN’ IN THE FINGER,
the scuzzie old tower block where they put us antisociable families. Authorities say it dirty smack goin’ round, but them bodies ain’t all users … an’ they look like they die screamin’.
Marshall O’Connor the First lives in the Finger with his mum and li’l bro. His dad’s in prison, school kicked him out, and the bedbugs are drivin’ him
crazy
.
True, Marsh got himself some issues. But it ain’t the drugs that peoples should be worryin’ about, ’cos them bloodsuckin’ bugs have grown some, and they ready for a bigger feed…
“DISTINCTIVE, FRESH
AND
DECIDEDLY CREEPY”
– GUARDIAN
“NIGHTMARISH
AND
UTTERLY CONVINCING”
– ANTHONY M
c
GOWAN
I
n a newspaper office, Paul Faustino, South America’s top sports journalist, sits opposite the man they call El Gato – the Cat – the world’s greatest goalkeeper. On the table between them stands the World Cup…
In the hours that follow, El Gato tells his incredible life story – how he, a poor logger’s son, learns to become a World Cup-winning goalkeeper. And the most remarkable part of this story is the man who teaches him – the mysterious Keeper, who haunts a football pitch at the heart of the claustrophobic forest.
“Mal Peet [takes] the football novel into a new league.”
Guardian
“A remarkable and absorbing story with football at its heart, but superb storytelling in its soul.”
Branford Boase Award panel
A boy drowns, desperate and alone in his final moments. He
dies
.
Then he wakes, naked and bruised and thirsty, but
alive
.
How can this be? And what is this strange, deserted place?
As he struggles to understand what is happening, the boy dares to hope. Might this not be the end? Might there be more to this life, or perhaps this afterlife?
From the multi-award-winning Patrick Ness comes one of the most provocative and moving novels of our time.
“Patrick Ness is an insanely beautiful writer”
John Green
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, used fictitiously. All statements, activities, stunts, descriptions, information and material of any other kind contained herein are included for entertainment purposes only and should not be relied on for accuracy or replicated as they may result in injury.
First published in Great Britain 2015 by Walker Books Ltd
87 Vauxhall Walk, London SE11 5HJ
Text © 2015 Steve Tasane
Cover image of male figure reflected in puddle © 2015 Karina Simonsen / Arcangel Images
The right of Steve Tasane to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, taping and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data: a catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-4063-6459-0 (ePub)