Back Up

Berlin, 1967: four members of the British rock band Pearl Harbor die at the same time but in separate locations. Inexplicably, the police conclude natural causes are to blame.

Brussels, 2010: A homeless man is hit by a car outside the Gare du Midi, leaving him with locked-in syndrome, able to communicate (sometimes) by blinking.

An Irish journalist's interest is piqued. How did the members of Pearl Harbor die, and how is this linked to the homeless man in Brussels?

Paul Colize is a Belgian novelist who was born in Brussels in 1953. Back Up won the de Saint-Maur Grand Prix and was a finalist in the Prix Victor-Rossel. He lives in Waterloo, Belgium.

Louise Rogers Lalaurie translates fiction and literary non-fiction from French. Her translation of Gabrielle Wittkop’s novella Murder Most Serene was shortlisted for the 2016 Best Translated Book Award.