The Fall Guy by James Lasdun
Who is the real victim here? Who is the perpetrator? And who, ultimately, is the fall guy? It is summer, 2012. Charlie, a wealthy banker with an uneasy conscience, invites his troubled cousin Matthew to visit him and his wife in their idyllic mountain-top house.
Engaging, effortlessly readable… Lasdun’s writing style is clean and straightforwardAll the complexity resides in character and detail. This is masterfully controlled 2am noir. -- Lionel Shriver * Financial Times *
What a sinister and searching novel this is – and what a delight. James Lasdun is one of our great writers. -- Joseph O’Neill
Exceptionally entertaining…The Fall Guy reads like early Ian McEwan or late Patricia Highsmith… Lasdun is masterly in his story’s construction… This is exactly what a literary thriller should be: intelligent, careful, swift, unsettling. -- Charles Finch * New York Times Book Review *
Nothing is straightforward in this slick, Highsmithian thriller, and while the damaged Matthew’s capacity for self-deception is flagged early, Lasdun’s skill lies not least in letting us think that we might therefore have his number. Wrong – and yet the novel’s denouement feels fated even as it smoothly steals the breath. -- Stephanie Cross * Observer *
Impossible to put down. * Daily Mail *
A deftly constructed narratives of guilt and buried resentment -- M. Harrison * Guardian *
Already drawing comparisons to Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train — but more aptly described as the literary descendant of Dostoyevsky and Patricia Highsmith in an alluring contemporary setting — The Fall Guy is a twisty, chilly, exquisitely written, and tautly suspenseful exploration of big ideas in the guise of a psychological thriller. * Boston Globe *
James Lasdun seems to be one of the secret gardens of English writing…when we read him we know what language is for … In sentence after sentence, the reader feels Lasdun’s words shaping and then freely donating a world to us, with great flexible artistry. -- James Wood
The early pages crackle with a gut-level sense of menace… [There is] a brilliantly unbearable pivotal scene… The artistry in this morally complex, coolly seductive portrait of an imploding psyche means that there is plenty to admire on a repeat visit. -- Anthony Cummins * Literary Review, 2017 Books of the Year *
James Lasdun has written an elegantly suspenseful novel set in a brilliantly realised affluent upstate New York community not unlike Woodstock – his characters are achingly real, and the self-deceptions that drive them so insightfully depicted, we might almost mistake them for our own. Truly a “page-turner” – propelled toward just the right ending. -- Joyce Carol Oates
In The Fall Guy, James Lasdun brings the signature gifts to contemporary noir that he’s displayed in other literary venues – wit, style, an attractive gravitas. And the tale itself is sharp, acute in its observations, and absorbing. It’s a rich read. -- Norman Rush
Elegant and disturbing…This simple-seeming novel, so graceful in its unfolding, proves dense with psychological detail and sly social observations. * Wall Street Journal *
Lasdun serves up another complex psychological thriller. . . A gripping, often unnerving page-turner perfect for fans of Thomas H. Cook, Ian McEwan, and Joyce Carol Oates. * Booklist *
Lasdun's controlled, devious storytelling style infuses every tick of the clock with tension. * Kirkus Reviews *
[A] terrific novel… Lasdun presents the inexorable turnings of fate in a subtle and disconcerting way. * Publishers Weekly *
What a sinister and searching novel this is – and what a delight. James Lasdun is one of our great writers. -- Joseph O’Neill
Exceptionally entertaining…The Fall Guy reads like early Ian McEwan or late Patricia Highsmith… Lasdun is masterly in his story’s construction… This is exactly what a literary thriller should be: intelligent, careful, swift, unsettling. -- Charles Finch * New York Times Book Review *
Nothing is straightforward in this slick, Highsmithian thriller, and while the damaged Matthew’s capacity for self-deception is flagged early, Lasdun’s skill lies not least in letting us think that we might therefore have his number. Wrong – and yet the novel’s denouement feels fated even as it smoothly steals the breath. -- Stephanie Cross * Observer *
Impossible to put down. * Daily Mail *
A deftly constructed narratives of guilt and buried resentment -- M. Harrison * Guardian *
Already drawing comparisons to Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train — but more aptly described as the literary descendant of Dostoyevsky and Patricia Highsmith in an alluring contemporary setting — The Fall Guy is a twisty, chilly, exquisitely written, and tautly suspenseful exploration of big ideas in the guise of a psychological thriller. * Boston Globe *
James Lasdun seems to be one of the secret gardens of English writing…when we read him we know what language is for … In sentence after sentence, the reader feels Lasdun’s words shaping and then freely donating a world to us, with great flexible artistry. -- James Wood
The early pages crackle with a gut-level sense of menace… [There is] a brilliantly unbearable pivotal scene… The artistry in this morally complex, coolly seductive portrait of an imploding psyche means that there is plenty to admire on a repeat visit. -- Anthony Cummins * Literary Review, 2017 Books of the Year *
James Lasdun has written an elegantly suspenseful novel set in a brilliantly realised affluent upstate New York community not unlike Woodstock – his characters are achingly real, and the self-deceptions that drive them so insightfully depicted, we might almost mistake them for our own. Truly a “page-turner” – propelled toward just the right ending. -- Joyce Carol Oates
In The Fall Guy, James Lasdun brings the signature gifts to contemporary noir that he’s displayed in other literary venues – wit, style, an attractive gravitas. And the tale itself is sharp, acute in its observations, and absorbing. It’s a rich read. -- Norman Rush
Elegant and disturbing…This simple-seeming novel, so graceful in its unfolding, proves dense with psychological detail and sly social observations. * Wall Street Journal *
Lasdun serves up another complex psychological thriller. . . A gripping, often unnerving page-turner perfect for fans of Thomas H. Cook, Ian McEwan, and Joyce Carol Oates. * Booklist *
Lasdun's controlled, devious storytelling style infuses every tick of the clock with tension. * Kirkus Reviews *
[A] terrific novel… Lasdun presents the inexorable turnings of fate in a subtle and disconcerting way. * Publishers Weekly *
James Lasdun’s books include The Fall Guy and Give Me Everything You Have: On Being Stalked. He teaches creative writing at Columbia University and reviews regularly for the Guardian. His work has been filmed by Bernardo Bertolucci (Besieged) and he co-wrote the films Sunday, which won Best Feature and Best Screenplay awards at Sundance, and Signs and Wonders, starring Charlotte Rampling and Stellan Skarsgård.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781910702833 |
| ISBN 10 | 1910702838 |
| Title | The Fall Guy |
| Author | James Lasdun |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Vintage Publishing |
| Year published | 2017-01-12 |
| Number of pages | 272 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |