The Cage

Two mysterious strangers appear at a hotel in a small country town. 

Where have they come from? Who are they? What catastrophe are they fleeing? 

The townspeople want answers, but the strangers are unable to speak of their trauma. And before long, wary hospitality shifts to suspicion and fear, and the care of the men slides into appalling cruelty. 

Lloyd Jones’s fable-like novel The Cage is a profound and unsettling novel about humanity and dignity and the ease with which we’re able to justify brutality.

Lloyd Jones has written novels, short stories and a memoir. He won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for his novel Mister Pip. His other books include Hand Me Down World and A History of Silence. Lloyd lives in Wellington.

‘It is a thought-provoking and affecting book for readers of literary fiction where the morally questionable appears very ordinary.’ Books+Publishing, FOUR STARS

‘A dark fable of imprisonment.’ Sydney Morning Herald, What to Read in 2018

‘Jones builds calmly, rationally, in prose shot through with instances of unexpected beauty and tenderness to a terrible climax.’ Adelaide Advertiser 

‘…A thinly disguised allegory of how easily ordinary, civilised people can lose their humanity, which reminded me of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies.’ Australian Financial Review 

‘A profound and unsettling allegorical fable…Its powerful message camouflaged by almost fairytale simplicity. The Cage explores how quickly humanity and dignity can segue into brutality when communication breaks down. Trust is revealed as fragile, forever at the mercy of authoritarian impulse.’ Qantas Magazine

‘Its mastery lies in its mystery; the skill with which it leaves things unsaid. An audacious and affecting riff on the tenuousness of understanding and the frailty of good intentions. What on earth will the guy do next?’ NZ Herald

‘The Kiwi master who brought us Mister Pip and The Book of Fame is in fine form with this unsettling new novel that begins with two mysterious strangers arriving at a hotel in a small country town. Hospitality shifts to suspicion and fear in this allegorical, fable-like tale about humanity and dignity and the ease with which we can justify brutality.’ Cityscape

‘As compelling as a fairytale—beautiful, shocking and profound.’ Helen Garner on Mr Pip

‘Lloyd Jones has plotted a fine and moving story with enormous compassion, emotional depth and tender insight into humanity.’ Sunday Telegraph on Hand Me Down World