Exploring the world through a series of unusual objects, the stunning new essay collection from the critically acclaimed author of Elsewhere . For fans of Emilie Pine, Sinead Gleeson and Sara Baume. A raven feather crown in Bhutan, the 200-year old glass beads picked up in Venice, a silver rat trap in Verona, a blood-soaked carpet in Dhaka, a single flower in the Iranian desert or bejewelled skeletons in Austria. Feather, glass, silver, blood, sand, bone - these substances contain the lives of people who came before, their times of crisis and celebration, of hardship and splendour. Over a lifetime of travel, Rosita Boland has visited some of the most remote and beautiful parts of the globe, discovering how people live, their histories and traditions. She has seen how the material world holds stories from the past better than people ever could; how objects can powerfully reveal the memories of a population and help us understand the modern world. This stunning and moving collection with just a hint of magic, will uplift, inspire and transport. It's the perfect read for our modern times.