Remainder (novel)
 Cover of the first edition, published by Metronome Press in 2005 | |
| Author | Tom McCarthy |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Vintage |
Publication date |
|
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 308 pp |
| ISBN | 978-0-307-27835-7 |
| 821/.92 | |
Remainder is a 2005 novel by British author Tom McCarthy. It is McCarthy's third published work. It was first written in 2001, although not published until 2005 (in a limited run of 750 copies printed by the French Metronome Press). The novel was later re-printed by UK publishing house Alma Books; Vintage Books printed the book in the United States.[1] The plot revolves around an unnamed narrator who has received a large financial settlement after an accident, and his obsession with recreating half-remembered events from his life before the incident.
Remainder was published to acclaim from critics. McCarthy received the 2007 Believer Book Award for the novel, after its republication.[2]
Plot summary
[edit]Remainder tells the story of an unnamed narrator traumatized by an accident which "involved something falling from the sky". Eight and a half million pounds richer due to a compensation settlement but hopelessly estranged from the world around him, the protagonist spends his time and money paying others to reconstruct and re-enact vaguely remembered scenes and situations from his past. These re-enactments are driven by a need to inhabit the world "authentically" rather than in the "second-hand" manner that his traumatic situation has bequeathed him. When the recreation of mundane events fails to quench this thirst for authenticity, he starts re-enacting more and more violent events, including drive-by shootings and a bank heist.
Themes
[edit]Like much of McCarthy's work, the novel heavily features repetition and repeated actions. It also deals with amnesia and issues of memory.
Reception
[edit]Remainder was generally well received by critics. On Metacritic, the book received a 79 out of 100 based on 14 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[3] According to Book Marks, the book received "positive" reviews based on 8 critic reviews with 4 being "rave" and 3 being "positive" and 1 being "mixed".[4] On Bookmarks Magazine May/June 2007 issue, a magazine that aggregates critic reviews of books, the book received a 
(4.0 out of 5) based on critic reviews with the critical summary stating, "The vagueness may bother some readers, but most will enjoy pondering the ambiguity of it all".[5] Globally, the work was received generally well with Complete Review saying on the consensus "Very impressed".[6]
Writing in the Guardian, Patrick Ness called it "splendidly odd".[7] The New Yorker noted that "McCarthy’s portrait of the pursuit of total control is arresting",[8] while Peter Carty, in the Independent, said "McCarthy's prose is precise and unpretentious".[9]
Novelist and essayist Zadie Smith wrote a long appreciation of the novel in her 2009 collection Changing My Mind.
Film adaptation
[edit]A film adaptation written and directed by Israeli artist Omer Fast was released in 2015; it was Fast's first major film.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ Ness, Patrick (11 August 2006). "Remainder". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
- ^ "The Believer - The Believer Book Award". The Believer. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
- ^ "Remainder". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 24 September 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ "Remainder". Book Marks. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
- ^ "Remainder By Tom McCarthy". Bookmarks Magazine. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ "Remainder". Complete Review. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ Ness, Patrick (11 August 2006). "Review: Remainder by Tom McCarthy". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ "Briefly Noted". The New Yorker. 5 March 2007. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ "Remainder, by Tom McCarthy". The Independent. 12 December 2005. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ Morton, Tom (June 2014). "Novel Idea". Frieze Magazine. Retrieved 27 September 2014.