Tom McCarthy Books

Essays on literature, pop culture, and more from the cult novelist and critic Tom McCarthy present a map of his sensibility and critical intelligence. Fifteen brilliant essays span a range of subjects, including the weather as media, Gerhard Richter's paintings, David Lynch's films, and Patty Hearst as a revolutionary figure. The collection also delves into the enduring implications of literary masterpieces like Ulysses and Tristram Shandy, alongside Alexander Trocchi's Cain's Book. The essay "Recessional" explores the relationship between time and writing, suggesting that writing creates its own temporal space, distinct from institutional time. In "Nothing Will Have Taken Place," McCarthy connects figures like Mallarme and Don DeLillo with Zidane's athletic prowess, illustrating how art disrupts established meanings and behaviors, returning them to a state of play. Recurring references, such as Ed Ruscha's Royal Road Test and the proliferation of jellyfish in oceans, raise the question of how art can challenge the conventions of realism—both aesthetic and political—to actively reinvent the world.

Exciting early work by the Man Booker-shortlisted author, discussing Herge's hugely popular children's books. McCarthy asks the question: is Tintin literature? and delves into a story of hushed-up royal descent in both Herge's work and the family history of the author.

Exploring the hidden depths of individual consciousness, this debut novel delves into the implications of bringing one's inner world to life. Through precise and unpretentious prose, it examines the complexities of identity and reality, inviting readers to consider the consequences of manifesting personal desires. The narrative challenges perceptions of existence and self, making it a thought-provoking read.

Bodies in motion. Birds, bees and bobsleighs. What is the force that moves the sun and other stars? Where's our fucking airplane? What's inside Box 808, and why does everybody want it? Deep within the archives of time-and-motion pioneer Lillian Gilbreth lies a secret. Famous for producing solid light tracks that captured the path of workers' movements, Gilbreth helped birth the era of mass observation and big data. Did she also, as her broken correspondence with a young Soviet physicist suggests, discover in her final days a 'perfect' movement, one that would 'change everything'? An international hunt begins for the one box missing from her records, and we follow contemporary motion-capture consultant Mark Phocan, as well as his collaborators and antagonists, across geopolitical fault lines and experimental zones: medical labs, CGI studios, military research centres ... Places where the frontiers of potential - to cure, kill, understand or entertain - are constantly tested. And all the while, work is underway on the blockbuster film Incarnation, on epic space tragedy

*Shortlisted for the 2015 Man Booker prize* *Shortlisted for the 2015 Goldsmiths Prize * *âe~A horrifyingly comic novel of ideas with its fingers jammed into the light-socket of the ageâe(tm) Guardian* *âe~A Kafka for the Google Ageâe(tm) Daily Telegraph* Meet U. âe" a talented and uneasy figure currently pimping his skills to an elite consultancy in contemporary London. His employers advise everyone from big businesses to governments, and, to this end, expect their 'corporate anthropologist' to help decode and manipulate the world around them âe" all the more so now that a giant, epoch-defining project is in the offing. Instead, U. spends his days procrastinating, meandering through endless buffer-zones of information and becoming obsessed by the images with which the world bombards him on a daily basis: oil spills, African traffic jams, roller-blade processions, zombie parades. Is there, U. wonders, a secret logic holding all these images together âe" a codex that, once cracked, will unlock the master-meaning of our age? Might it have something to do with South Pacific Cargo Cults, or the dead parachutists in the news? Perhaps; perhaps not. As U. oscillates between the visionary and the vague, brilliance and bullshit, Satin Island emerges, an impassioned and exquisite novel for our disjointed times.

Born to the sound of one of the very earliest experimental wireless stations, Serge finds himself steeped in a weird world of transmissions, whose very air seems filled with cryptic and poetic signals of all kinds. When personal loss strikes him in his adolescence, this world takes on a darker and more morbid aspect.

Highlighting the fascinating world of snipers, this collection features gripping narratives from various media, showcasing their impact throughout history. From the Revolutionary War to modern conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the anthology includes contributions from renowned figures like Chris Kyle and others. Each story captures the essence of the sniper's experience, combining personal accounts with broader historical contexts, making it a compelling read for those interested in military history and the art of marksmanship.