![]() ![]() ![]() Epiphanies and/or deep-set fears are flushed out – often after some bout of shameless behaviour or attempted one-upmanship. The men in question come from different cultures, classes, lifestyles and age groups, and the author shows how, detached from their usual sphere of influence and responsibilities, they become introspective and more thoughtful about their station in life. Consequently, the stories have extra significance when weighed and understood as a whole. His book, it’s clear, is a comment on – or perhaps a satire of – 21st century manhood. ![]() One of the book’s few virtuous men, Tony “thinks about death quite a lot now”, and finds it unspeakably painful to imagine the day he will see his daughter Cordelia for the last time.Įach of Szalay’s protagonists is away from home when he zooms in on their lives. What happens to them all?”, wonders Tony, a retired civil servant who is having an isolated crisis of confidence at his second home near Bologna, Italy after a heart operation. “All those people you know in a lifetime. David Szalay’s latest work comprises nine short stories about nine different men, each of them scrutinising his existence. ![]()
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