Thomas needs to speak to his mother before she dies.

But he's set to give a talk to a conference of physiotherapists in the Netherlands; if he leaves now will he get to her deathbed in time?

Will he be able to say what he couldn't say before? He can't concentrate on what is happeningnow: his mind won't sit still. Should he try to solve his friend's marital crisis? Should he reconsider his separation from his own wife? And why does he need to peeagain?

In Extremisis Tim Parks's masterwork: a darkly hilarious and deadly serious novel about infidelity, mortality and the frailties of the human body.

Born in Manchester,Tim Parksgrew up in London and studied at Cambridge and Harvard. He lives in Milan.

He is the acclaimed author of novels, non-fiction and essays, includingEuropa,In Extremis,A Season with Verona,Teach Us to Sit StillandItalian Ways.He has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize, won the Somerset Maugham Award, the Betty Trask Prize, the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, the John Florio Prize and the Italo Calvino Prize.