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On the coast of northern England, Thomas doggedly carries on the family trade of shanker, scraping what he can from the water to sell in town. His conveyance is a horse and cart, although those with more money get motorized rigs. At heart he's a musician but can't see how he could escape his limited life. An American, Edgar, comes to town to make a movie and enlists Thomas to show him the local ropes. During a bizarre accident, Thomas has a hallucinatory experience that scrapes him loose, somewhat, with the hope that he'll find the love and artistic expression he yearns for. Atmospheric, both grounded in the grutty details of everyday life and soaring with magical realism. Beautiful writing.
In this intense novel, various members of an influential family, the Fitzmaurices, have bought their way out of potential scandals. Milton, now a teacher at an obscure college in Cambridge, was friends with Ben Fitzmaurice at school. Ben was driving drunk and Milton was his passenger. The car crashed and hit someone. Milton took the rap because he was sober and could avoid prison. Much later, when the Fitzmaurices stop sending Milton the "support" they've been providing, he starts to gather evidence on the death of Fliss, Ben's sister, whose reason for suicide is linked to a rape by another influential friend of theirs. We get the story through the characters' points of view, and that view is often ugly and entitled. One revealing back story: Cosimo, Ben's rebellious daughter, takes part in environmental actions that turn violent. Ben serves as the Minister for Energy, with his eye on running for Prime Minister. A searing, but often satirical portrait of not-so- merry England these days.
These essays reflect the author's quirks with great charm. He's often annoyed—and there's plenty for most of us to be annoyed about in these fraught days—but he manages to make much of his vexation funny. (I actually laughed out loud a times, which is very rare.) With the perspective of increasing age, there's also the shadow of loss, which adds chiaroscuro. A sampler of his subjects: dress codes, mechanical greetings from service people, his long relationship with Hugh and what to call it, and a safari in Africa. All grist for his mill and great pleasure for his readers.
The title of this novel is a term from fine art, and that theme winds its way through this decades-long story of a young man nicknamed Cricket who went through art school with fellow-student Olympia. She remains his friend and supporter, no matter what fate throws at him. Cricket meets teachers and mentors of all stripes; some set him back with doctrinaire critiques, but a precious few encourage his considerable talent in that horridly competitive world in which money and style often trump beauty and passion. There's a surprise ending in which an old antagonist becomes part of a scheme that actually works to promote their art. The fine sketches from life drawing classes are by Eggers himself. Is there anything this multitalented guy can't do?
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