Quarantine

On his way to North Africa, eighty-something David Green is held in London for twelve days under the COVID-19 safety rules the government had put in place. Confined to a cramped hotel room, he spends his days at the window, watching the people below go about their business while he waits to be let out.

Nearing eighty-three, David often catches sight of the frail man in the mirror and wonders where his strength and his years have gone. Once released, he travels to Oxford and Bournemouth in England, then on to Lisbon in Portugal, and walks the streets of Manhattan. The virus follows him wherever he goes, and he is haunted by fear over who it might claim next.

As he moves from place to place, David looks back on his life and considers what remains, seeing it all through the eyes of an aging man. The novel mixes humor and regret with moments that are emotional and others that are more matter-of-fact, all against the steady reality that his body is failing. He is no longer the man he once was, yet his life of adventure has not come to an end.