Glovers Mistake
By (Author) Nick Laird
HarperCollins Publishers
Fourth Estate Ltd
17th August 2010
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
Modern and Contemporary romance
Contemporary lifestyle fiction
Satirical fiction and parodies
Adventure / action fiction
Narrative theme: Love and relationships
Narrative theme: Interior life
823.92
Paperback
304
Width 129mm, Height 198mm, Spine 16mm
170g
The second novel from exciting, young novelist Nick Laird an artful meditation on love and life in contemporary London.
When David Pinner introduces his former teacher, the American artist Ruth Marks, to his friend and flatmate James Glover, he unwittingly sets in place a love triangle loaded with tension, guilt and heartbreak. As David plays reluctant witness (and more) to James and Ruths escalating love affair, he must come to terms with his own blighted emotional life.
Set in the London art scene awash with new money and intellectual pretension, in the sleek galleries and posh restaurants of a Britannia resurgent with cultural and economic power, Nick Lairds insightful and drolly satirical novel vividly portrays three people whose world gradually fractures along the fault lines of desire, truth and jealousy. With wit and compassion, Laird explores the very nature of contemporary romance, among damaged souls whose hearts and heads never quite line up long enough for them to achieve true happiness.
Glovers Mistake is a fine, thoughtful piece of work that combines a compelling plot and pithy insights into the relationship between creativity and criticism; between art and those who make their livings skulking in its shadow. John OConnell, The Times
It is a book that takes its characters pretty seriously, feeling their pain and acknowledging the complexity and muddle of their livesthe strength of this book comes from the sheer quality of the writing. Guardian
A very special and terrifically enjoyable book. Not to be missed. Daily Mail
Lairds characterisation is so skilfulThe slow-burning, straight-faced humour is effective, the quality of observations assured. Sunday Times
Glovers Mistake is a stifling study of frustration and tightening obsessionIt is Lairds poetic voice that is the real attraction. Glovers Mistake is punctuated by witty social observations and tantalising flashes of brilliance. Sunday Telegraph
Taking the template of his old work precise, clever, fast-paced fiction and bringing it several steps forwardLaird has a pacy, captivating style that keeps your eyes firmly fastened to the pageHe is the kind of author who makes you interested to see what he will do next. Sunday Business Post
Nick Laird was born in 1975 in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, and until recently worked as a lawyer in London. His poems, essays and reviews have been published in various anthologies and journals, including the Times Literary Supplement and the London Review of Books. Lairds two poetry collections, To a Fault and On Purpose, are published by Faber and Faber, and his first novel, Utterly Monkey, was published by Fourth Estate in 2005.