Delphi

A Novel

Clare Pollard

• Publisher: Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN:
  9781982197902
• eBook ISBN:
  9781982197919
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Literature General
• Index: Literature

A Guardian Best Book of 2022 * "Clever and surprising." — BuzzFeed * "Brilliantly funny." — San Francisco Chronicle * "Ingenious."— The Millions * "Powerful." — Harper's Bazaar A captivating debut novel about a classics professor immersed in research for a new book on a prophecy in the ancient world who confronts chilling questions about her own life just as the pandemic descends—for readers of Jenny Offill, Ottessa Moshfegh, and Sally Rooney. Covid-19 has arrived in London, and the entire world quickly succumbs to the surreal, chaotic mundanity of screens, isolation, and the disasters big and small that have plagued recent history. As our unnamed narrator—a classics professor immersed in her studies of ancient prophecies—navigates the tightening grip of lockdown, a marriage in crisis, and a ten-year-old son who seems increasingly unreachable, she becomes obsessed with predicting the future. Shifting her focus from chiromancy (prophecy by palm reading) to zoomancy (prophecy by animal behavior) to oenomancy (prophecy by wine), she fails to notice the future creeping into the heart of her very own home, and when she finally does, the threat has already breached the gates.Brainy and ominous, imaginative and funny, Delphi is a snapshot and a time capsule—it vividly captures our current moment and places our reality in the context of myth. Clare Pollard has delivered one of our first great pandemic novels, a mesmerizing and richly layered story about how we keep on living in a world that is ever-more uncertain and absurd.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Epigraph
• 1. Theomancy: Prophecy by Foretelling Events
• 2. Theia Mania: Prophecy by Divine Madness
• 3. Haruspicy: Prophecy by Entrails
• 4. Rhapsodomancy: Prophecy by Poetry
• 5. Genethlialogy: Prophecy by Birth Dates
• 6. Tarotmancy: Prophecy by Tarot
• 7. Ovomancy: Prophecy by Eggs
• 8. Ophthalmomancy: Prophecy by Eyes
• 9. Stichomancy: Prophecy by Lines Chosen at Random
• 10. Fructomancy: Prophecy by Fruit
• 11. Entomomancy: Prophecy by Insect
• 12. Catoptromancy: Prophecy by Mirrors
• 13. Anthomancy: Prophecy by Flowers
• 14. Ololygmancy: Prophecy by the Howling of Dogs
• 15. Augury: Prophecy by Bird Formations
• 16. Turifumy: Prophecy by Shapes in Smoke
• 17. Videomancy: Prophecy by Electronic Visual Medium
• 18. Haematomancy: Prophecy by Blood
• 19. Postdiction: Prophecy Written After the Fact
• 20. Chiromancy: Prophecy by Palm Reading
• 21. Zoomancy: Prophecy by Animal Behaviour
• 22. Oneiromancy: Prophecy by Dreams
• 23. Causimancy: Prophecy by Burning
• 24. Hydatomancy: Prophecy by Rainwater
• 25. Oinomancy: Prophecy by Wine
• 26. Phrenology: Prophecy by the Configuration of the Brain
• 27. Scrying: Prophecy by Gazing
• 28. Urticariaomancy: Prophecy by Itches
• 29. Schematomancy: Prophecy by Face
• 30. Selenomancy: Prophecy by Moon
• 31. Thriae: Prophecy by Mantic Pebbles
• 32. Alphitomancy: Prophecy by Barley
• 33. Gyromancy: Prophecy by Dizziness
• 34. Papyromancy: Prophecy by Paper Money
• 35. Cybermancy: Prophecy by Computer
• 36. Gastromancy: Prophecy by Guttural Sounds
• 37. Shufflemancy: Prophecy by the Use of an Electronic Media Player
• 38. Cleromancy: Prophecy by Random Numbers
• 39. Ceneromancy: Prophecy by the Ashes of a Specifically Ritual Fire
• 40. Nephomancy: Prophecy by Clouds
• 41. Aeromancy: Prophecy by Air
• 42. Cyclicomancy: Prophecy by Swirling Water in a Cup
• 43. Necromancy: Prophecy by Speaking to the Dead
• 44. Googlemancy: Prophecy by Strangers
• 45. Osteomancy: Prophecy by Bones
• 46. Ophiomancy: Prophecy by Snake
• 47. Tasseography: Prophecy by Tea Leaves or Coffee Grounds
• 48. Astrology: Prophecy by Celestial Bodies
• 49. Anthropomancy: Prophecy by Human Sacrifice
• 50. Psephomancy: Prophecy by Lots or Ballots
• 51. Pilimancy: Prophecy by the Patterns of Human Hairs
• 52. Lampadomancy: Prophecy by Flame
• 53. Anthroposcopy: Prophecy by Physical Appearance
• 54. Chresmomancy: Prophecy by the Ravings of Madmen
• 55. Brontomancy: Prophecy by Thunder
• 56. Auramancy: Prophecy by Aura
• 57. Micromancy: Prophecy by Small Objects
• 58. Dendromancy: Prophecy by Trees
• 59. Drimimancy: Prophecy by Bodily Fluids
• 60. Phobomancy: Prophecy by Feelings of Fear
• 61. Ichnomancy: Prophecy by Footprints
• 62. Moromancy: Prophecy by Foolishness
• 63. Batrachomancy: Prophecy by Frogs
• 64. Aichmomancy: Prophecy by Sharp Objects
• 65. Dactylomancy: Prophecy by Means of Finger Movements
• Acknowledgements
• Reading Group Guide
• About the Author
• Copyright