The Salt Flats

As heard on BBC Radio 4 - Take Four Books
THE PERFECT ESCAPE. THE PERFECT NIGHTMARE.
Martha and Finn's marriage is hanging by a thread. Martha, crippled by paralyzing climate anxiety, finds herself at odds with Finn, who steadfastly refuses to confront the demons of his past.
In a desperate attempt to repair their relationship, they join a group of privileged tourists on a pilgrimage to The Salt Centre, a mysterious retreat nestled deep within the Bolivian salt flats.
United by a shared quest for spiritual enlightenment, the group embark on a journey guided by an elusive shaman. As a series of salt ceremonies unfold, hallucinogenic episodes force each of them to confront their own versions of reality.
When the final ceremony descends into a nightmare, Martha and Finn are met with an ultimatum. Forced to grapple with the moral implications of their trip they must ask themselves: are some wounds too deep to heal?
PRAISE FOR THE SALT FLATS:
'Original and bold, this is an ambitious and hugely imaginative novel.' Lucie McKnight Hardy
'Gripping, compulsive and deeply deeply human.' Heather Parry
'A superb and spellbinding evocation of an otherworldly place, doused in a creeping sense of horror.' Carole Hailey
'Compulsive and compelling.' Cailean Steed

Rachelle Atalla is a Scottish-Egyptian novelist, short story writer and screenwriter based in Glasgow. Her short stories have been published widely in literary anthologies and she is the recipient of a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award. Her first short film screenplay Trifle was commissioned by the Scottish Film & Talent Network and she is developing her first feature length screenplay with BBC Film. The Pharmacist was her first novel and shortlisted for the Scottish Fiction Book of the Year; Thirsty Animals is her second.