839. Arcadia

Arcadia
Jim Crace
1991

Around 315 pages

I don't think anything makes me squirm as much on this List as when authors provide their...interpretations of breast-feeding. Lots of sore and cracked nipples here.

Victor is celebrating his 80th birthday with a dinner. His righthand man Rook helps prepare his birthday feast, only Victor wants to fire him and build a shopping center. We learn about Victor's childhood. I think the recounting of his mother's final moments was the strongest writing in the novel.

Crace explores some complex ideas here, but comes to mostly curmudgeonly opinions. Everything is getting worse, but things were also harder back then and kids today couldn't handle it. I think some readers will be charmed by the chaos of the story and characters, but the point of view felt overly complicated.

So a middle of the road read, which seems to be the norm lately.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

His novels have been translated into 28 languages.

UP NEXT: Hideous Kinky by Esther Freud