Pilcrow
Adam Mars-Jones’s Pilcrow is a wonderful and much-anticipated coming-of-age story from an acclaimed literary author.
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Summary
‘Gripping.’ New Statesman
‘Compulsive.’ Observer
‘Strange and exhilarating.’ Sunday Times
‘A joy to read.’ Sunday Telegraph
‘Constantly surprising.’ London Review of Books
‘One of the most original comic creations in recent fiction.’ Guardian
Time passed slowly in the 1950s, especially if you’d been put to bed and told not to move (until further notice). But John Cromer, the central character of this extraordinary novel, is much closer to being an explorer than a victim. He’s the weakest hero in fiction – unless he’s one of the strongest.
The first instalment of the semi-infinite Pilcrow sequence, this novel of capacious wit and style marks the opening chapter of the most memorable and enjoyable experiment in modern fiction.
‘Pilcrow is a humdinger, a startling work that stands out against the monotonous field of contemporary British fiction as a genuine, almost miraculous oddity.’ Metro
Critic Reviews
'I'm not quite sure how Mars-Jones was done out of the Booker prize for this wonderfully minute, intimately detailed novel that manages nevertheless to make you feel that every word carries universal meaning. But I think he should sue ... critics have remarked on the Proustian aspect to the detailing opf John's life, and it's not an exaggeration to invoke that name here ... Mars-Jones's skill in making us trust him [John] absolutely is quite masterful.'
Critic Reviews
'Mars-Jones inhabits [John's] world absolutely; he clearly understands those who physical security is under threat. Pilcrow is rigorously unsentimental, and there is an often funny matter-of-factness in the way it describes John's incapacity and how he manages it.'
Critic Reviews
'John is an engaging guide to a mundane world, wryly comic as he struggles to channel lusty adolescent impulses through rusty limbs. The finest humour results from his playful attitude to language, which allows him respite from his routine.'
AdamMars-Jones
Adam Mars-Jones’s first book of stories, Lantern Lecture, was published in 1981 and won a Somerset Maugham Award. In 1983 and again in 1993 he was named one of Granta‘s Best of Young British Novelists, despite not having produced a novel at the time. His Zen status as an acclaimed novelist without a novel was dented by the appearance of The Waters of…
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