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Contrapposto

'A sublime act of fiction' DAVID MITCHELL

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Contrapposto

Written by: Dave Eggers
Narrated by: Dion Graham
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Cricket is just a shy kid who likes drawing when he first meets Olympia. She’s older, more confident; she bullies him into some light vandalism and instantly he’s in love. When they’re together, they talk about their futures, how they’re going to travel the world, the beauty and rapture of art.

Then those futures start to arrive in unexpected ways, the years and decades pile up between them, the art world seduces and disappoints and frustrates them. And they have to figure out, again and again, what it is to be an artist, and who and what to love.

This is a wild and beautiful novel about two friends who believe they can change the world, if only they can start their own movement, dodge charlatans, remain open-eyed and open-hearted, avoid going mad, avoid dying young of rare cancers, stay true to their ideals and never tire of beauty. Not easy, but not impossible, either.

 Genre Fiction Literary Fiction
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Critic Reviews

"Contrapposto answers the question, "Why are novels irreplaceable?” From page one, I fell in love with its perfectly flawed characters, its big beating heart, its brain and its language. What a sublime act of fiction" (DAVID MITCHELL)
"I’ve seldom read a book so engaging as Contrapposto. Eggers writes with a narrative sure-footedness that is very attractive, his central characters both fully alive and at the same time almost completely mysterious. The story’s focus is on the visual arts, and love, and both, and its touch is no heavier than a hummingbird’s. I couldn’t see how he did it" (PHILIP PULLMAN)
"Contrapposto is an earthy, warm return to form . . . A novel of ideas, exploring the meaning of art and the unfairness, pretensions and occasional skullduggery of the art world"
"Dave Eggers has written a big-hearted, deeply moving story about the choices artists make, or don’t make, to square up their own notions of success and happiness"
"Glorious and captivating, with Eggers’ signature humour and precision, Contrapposto tells a big and big-hearted story that counter-positions exquisitely the pain and exhilarations of love and the creative impulse. I loved this novel" (LILY KING)
"This is a portrait of an artist as a young man, but then on through life, to the end, told by one of our finest artists. With Contrapposto, Dave Eggers gives us, generously and precisely, clear and bright, a story about why we create, and how we love" (TOMMY ORANGE)
"This book speaks to my heart. With wit, wisdom, and deep empathy, Contrapposto asks all the hard questions that haunt and enliven a creative life - about art and beauty, about commerce and class, about the cost of passion and the price of success" (RUTH OZEKI)
"A book of profundity, humanity and ravishing beauty - the only kind of book I want to read" (ANDREW SEAN GREER, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of LESS)
"Dave Eggers' new novel Contrapposto begins with a simple question: What is art? The answer turns out to be a stunning high-wire act and, boy, does Eggers stick the landing. Better yet, the book is a love story that just won't quit" (RICHARD RUSSO)
"Contrapposto is extraordinary, a lucid and passionate Künstlerroman and a drawing of the negative space around the contemporary art world. Cricket, given great talent and passion, is also a quiet rebel: his inability to agree to any of the small compromises necessary to become a big name is what keeps his art a pure, good, white-hot thing" (LAUREN GROFF)
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