In a dystopian future, the past is taboo. Kevern and Ailinn are two young people in this dark future. Kevern is haunted by a strange memory. His father always stopped him when he was about to say a word starting with a J. Ailinn is haunted by the mystery surrounding her identity and past. When they meet on a first date, Kevern kisses the bruises under her eyes, and he doesn’t ask her how she got them. In this world, brutality is a commonplace occurrence. They begin to fall in love, but is their love natural or have they been coaxed into it by some unseen force? Even as they try to understand their feelings, the past looms over them all, shrouded in suspicion, doubt and denial.

Howard Jacobson is a British journalist and novelist. He has also written The Finkler Question, Zoo Time and The Making of Henry.

Jacobson won the Man Booker Prize in 2010. J has been shortlisted for the 2014 Man Booker Prize.