Remainder (novel)

Remainder is a 2005 novel published by British author Tom McCarthy. It is McCarthy's third published work, first written in 2001, although not published until 2005 in a limited run of 750 copies printed by the French Metronome Press. The novel was later re-printed by UK publishing house Alma Books, and Vintage Books printed the book in the United States.^[1] The plot revolves around an unnamed narrator who has received a large settlement after an accident, and his obsession with recreating half-remembered events from his life before the incident.

Remainder was published to acclaim from critics. McCarthy received the 2007 Believer Book Award for the novel, after its republication.^[2]

Plot summary

Remainder tells the story of an unnamed narrator traumatized by an accident which "involved something falling from the sky". Eight and a half million pounds richer due to a compensation settlement but hopelessly estranged from the world around him, Remainder's protagonist spends his time and money paying others to reconstruct and re-enact vaguely remembered scenes and situations from his past. These re-enactments are driven by a need to inhabit the world "authentically" rather than in the "second-hand" manner that his traumatic situation has bequeathed him. When the recreation of mundane events fails to quench this thirst for authenticity, he starts re-enacting more and more violent events.

Themes

Like much of McCarthy's work, the novel heavily features repetition and repeated actions. It also deals with amnesia and issues of memory.

Film adaptation

A film adaptation written and directed by Israeli artist Omer Fast was released in 2015; it is Fast's first major film.^[3]

References