He who enters here will no longer have existence; his name and soul have vanished and are gone forever…

When sailor Gerard Gales loses his passport, he becomes stateless overnight. Stranded in post-war Europe, he drifts from one country to the next, repeatedly arrested and moved on until he finally finds work on the Yorikke, a decrepit ‘death ship’ bound for destruction. Condemned to stoke the furnaces, Gales must navigate a labyrinth of surreal rules, exploitation and the brutal realities of life at sea if he is to make it out alive. First published in 1926, The Death Ship is an absurd, darkly compelling tale of what it takes to survive when life is cheap.