This is the book you want to take to that desert island. Purgatory is about the first Spanish attempt to uncover the Terra Australis Incognita, or what we now call Australia. However, the real motives behind the voyage were esoteric rather than geographical or political. This voyage was inspired by an alchemist and had alchemical motives. Eternal life is possible, the secret has already been found. However, to get it you'll have to dig into the mind of the one who has it. The secret itself is a great journey of exploration and discovery. A journey through Purgatory, a world where God is absent. Not dead, It just hasn't been discovered yet.
About the Author: Paul Adkin was born in Derbyshire, England, in 1958, at his aunt's house. His early infancy was spent in a councilhouse in Bridge Street, Sandiacre. Thecontrast between gloomy brick and the calm, fecund life of the Erewash canal; betweenthe poverty of the town and the richness of the natural world, has been a deeplyingrained dialect in Paul's artist's psyche. In 1965 his father, decided to migrate to Australia. In 1976 Paul joined the drama and literature course at Rusden, started writing plays and after graduating hewrote and directed his first play "The Jackand Jill Story." In 1982 he was given the prestigious title of artistic-director-in-residenceat the Anthill Theatre where he directed his play"Schadenfreude". In 1983 he went to Japan, teaching English and working on a novella, inspired by aThomas Mann short story, "Gladius Dei". That novella would eventually bepublished thirty years later as "Art Wars". In 1984 he did a whirlwind tour of Europethat introduced him to the Mediterranean countries. He worked as hotel cleaner, later hotel manager in London, until he escaped to Spain. In Madrid he married andstarted writing a novel about the Spanish attempts to discover Australia. Theresult of this was the Terra Australis Incognita trilogy, the first part ofwhich was "Purgatory". In Madrid Paul returned to the theatre. His thirdcompany, Ñu Teatro, produced scripts, either translated or written byPaul himself in Spanish. With the millennium Paul and his wifestarted holidaying in the Greek Islands. His short story Kalimera won the Eyelands shortstory competition in 2012 and was translated into Greek. He has been acclaimedby his Greek readers for possessing a sharp, observant eye of the Greek cultureand atmosphere. When Sirens Call was another product of this very happy andfruitful relationship with the islands.