Joe Mungo Reed duikt in het ingewikkelde samenspel van verlangen, ambitie en sociale status. Zijn proza kenmerkt zich door scherpzinnig inzicht in de menselijke psyche en een precieze stilistische benadering. Reeds verhalen balanceren vaak op de grens tussen realiteit en droomachtige sfeer, waardoor lezers gedwongen worden hun eigen percepties van de wereld in twijfel te trekken. Zijn werk vormt een belangrijke bijdrage aan het hedendaagse literaire landschap.
'A dazzling debut by an exciting and essential new talent' George Saunders, Man Booker Prize winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo For Sol and Liz, competition is everything. On the road or in the lab, it's all on the line.
2013. Much of the world still reels from the global economic collapse, yet in the auction rooms of London artworks are selling for record-breaking prices. Martin, a junior specialist at a prestigious auction house, spends his days catering to the whims of obscenely wealthy clients and his nights drinking in grubby pubs. A chance meeting with Marina, an old university friend, whose husband, Oleg, is an art-collecting oligarch. Chafing against his diminishing influence in his homeland, Oleg appears ready to relinquish his priceless art collection long coveted by London's auction houses-- and Martin is determined to secure the sale and transform his career. -- adapted from jacket