The freedom artist, p.20
The Freedom Artist, page 20
One after another those returning from the dark were received with shouts of inhuman happiness or with the silence of an unimaginable reunion. And the young lover waited and watched each face with a heart heaving and a heart trembling with hope.
He looked at each face knowing that one of them could be the love of his life that he had lost on a day when he was deep in the sleep of life.
And then he saw her. She was suddenly there beneath the gate. She was thin and serene and beautiful. There was something immeasurably different about her. He hurried towards her. She was gazing round at the world with calm, neutral eyes. When he got to where she stood, Karnak fell at her feet. Amalantis regarded him calmly, with a half-smile. Then she made him rise.
Coda
In the oldest legends of the land, it is known that all are born in prison.
In the new reality, all are born into a story. It is a story which everyone creates and which everyone lives, with darkness or with light, in freedom.
Little Venice
London
We hope you enjoyed this book.
Ben Okri’s next book is coming in summer 2019
Acknowledgements
About Ben Okri
Also by Ben Okri
An Invitation from the Publisher
Acknowledgments
I wish to say a special thanks to the following people: to my editor, Maggie McKernan; to my agent, Georgina Capel; to R.C; to the inimitable Anthony Cheetham; and to all the good people at Head of Zeus.
About Ben Okri
BEN OKRI was born in Minna, Nigeria. His childhood was divided between Nigeria, where he saw first-hand the consequences of war, and London. He has won many prizes over the years for his fiction, and is also an acclaimed essayist, playwright and poet.
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An Invitation from the Publisher
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First published in the UK in 2019 by Head of Zeus Ltd
Copyright © Ben Okri, 2019
The moral right of Ben Okri to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN (HB): 9781788549592
ISBN (XTPB): 9781788549608
ISBN (E): 9781788549585
Author photo: Matt Bray
Images © Shutterstock
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Ben Okri, The Freedom Artist
