A funny, wistful and utterly beguiling novel about a man whose life is falling apart, and how he learns to put it back together

Jonas is starting to feel that life hasn't worked out the way he thought it would. Divorced and lonely, with nothing much to live for, he decides to buy a one-way ticket somewhere, anywhere, with no intention of coming back.

When he arrives at the strangely deserted airport, in the barren holiday resort (the cheapest last-minute deal he could find), and ends up on the doorstep of Hotel Silence, which has definitely seen better days, it seems the ideal place to put an end to it all. There isn't any dinner, the plumbing barely works, and the hotel staff seem somewhat distracted.

But as his relationship with May and her small son Adam grows into friendship, and he begins to understand the traumatic story of this war-torn country, Jonas discovers reasons to carry on. The pipes could do with tightening up, the plugs need rewiring, the window frames are in desperate need of a lick of paint.

This is a story about discovering perspective, working out how to carry on when life goes awry, and how to find happiness, and love, in the most difficult circumstances.