It's incredibly rare for me to buy a frontlist title because I absolutely hate paying hardcover prices. Besides, they're bulky, heavy, and—depending on the number of pages—don't easily fit inside a purse. As a result, I mostly consign myself to bargain books and paperback releases.
Then I read a review of Tom McCarthy's Remainder
But is all as it seems? The narrator is haunted by the smell of cordite; there are characters who might not be real; and he begins to fall into catatonic trances brought on by the re-enactments. Is this purgatory? Did he in fact die in the traumatic event? McCarthy wisely lets the question remain open, finding instead a marvellous closing image of a plane flying a figure of eight - which, of course, is also the symbol for infinity.
Hmm. It sounded intriguing but wasn't available yet on this side of the ocean, so I made a note of the title and author and went on my merry way. A few months later, Levi oozed enthusiasm when the U.S. paperback original made the front cover of The New York Times Book Review. I thought to myself, "Oh, yeah. I remember being interested in that one," and placed an order on Amazon because I had no problem with paying a paperback price.
Within the first few pages, I fell in love. I reviewed it for an Australian lifestyle site and set it up here as May's discussion. Unfortunately, the discussion didn't go over very well because one participant stopped in after discussion week was technically over (but thanks for the comment!), Eddie finally dropped in even later (but we talked about it in person), and I pretty much fell down on moderator duties.
In time, posts about it began popping up on other blogs. Matthew Tiffany has mentioned it with near obsession on Condalmo. I talked about how much I loved it over dinner with Levi, Jason, and Ed (and it seems as though Ed has finally jumped on the McCarthy bandwagon). It's been reviewed on Bookslut and The Quarterly Conversation. Ready, Steady, Book is currently running a five-part interview series with Tom McCarthy.
I've been seeing the book everywhere, and it makes me want to experience Remainder all over again. Yet, despite the unnamed narrator's need to reenact in order to get at what's real, my reality is that I probably won't reread with the same amount of awe as the first time.
But McCarthy has a new book out, Men in Space, which is not yet available in the U.S. So you know what happened? The same person who usually scoffs at overpriced, bulky books has ordered the hardcover and paid a premium for express international shipping.
I simply have to have it.
