So now that I've actually read the book, I can officially vouch for Tom McCarthy's Remainder. Add me to the list of people singing its praises. (Maureen, I think you made a good purchase.)
I lack the energy right now to go into great detail about the book--and I think that's fine, because I think this is the sort of book you should probably just read, without too much prior knowledge going into it--so I'll just say two things: first being that it's a very interesting book and that there's a lot going on in there. Matt puts it well: "[I]f what McCarthy explores here - existentialism, trauma, amnesia, etc. - floats your boat, then here's the perfect wave." I think that quote is your litmus test for whether or not you'll be interested in this book. All I can offer is further empirical validation of the test's results.
Second thing, after I note that I haven't read every word written about this book yet so I don't know if this has already been addressed elsewhere, is that I can't help but wonder just how much of a field day a good Marxist/materialist literary critic would have with this book. The novel certainly made me want to dust off what few mental resources I once developed in that arena and put them to work. It's an incredibly, intrinsically financial universe McCarthy builds, is what I'm saying.
And is all I'm saying, for now. Suffice it to say, if you consider yourself the sort of person who likes the sorts of books I like, then chances are you'll like this book.
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