{"product_id":"dead-soulsisbn-9781646220281","title":"Dead Souls","description":"\u003cb\u003eFor readers of Roberto Bolaño's \u003ci\u003eSavage Detectives \u003c\/i\u003eand Muriel Spark's \u003ci\u003eLoitering with Intent\u003c\/i\u003e, this \"sublime\" and \"delightfully unhinged\" metaphysical mystery disguised as a picaresque romp follows one poet's spectacular fall from grace to ask a vital question: Is everyone a plagiarist? (Nicolette Polek, author of\u003ci\u003e Imaginary Museums\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA scandal has shaken the literary world. As the unnamed narrator of \u003ci\u003eDead Souls\u003c\/i\u003e discovers at a cultural festival in central London, the offender is Solomon Wiese, a poet accused of plagiarism. Later that same evening, at a bar near Waterloo Bridge, our narrator encounters the poet in person, and listens to the story of Wiese's rise and fall, a story that takes the entire night--and the remainder of the novel--to tell.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWiese reveals his unconventional views on poetry, childhood encounters with \"nothingness,\" a conspiracy involving the manipulation of documents in the public domain, an identity crisis, a retreat to the country, a meeting with an ex-serviceman with an unexpected offer, the death of an old poet, a love affair with a woman carrying a signpost, an entanglement with a secretive poetry cult, and plans for a triumphant return to the capital, through the theft of poems, illegal war profits, and faked social media accounts--plans in which our narrator discovers he is obscurely implicated.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eDead Souls\u003c\/i\u003e is a metaphysical mystery brilliantly encased in a picaresque romp, a novel that asks a vital question for anyone who makes or engages with art: Is everyone a plagiarist?\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e, 1 of the 10 Best Debut Novelists of the Year\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBuzzFeed\u003c\/i\u003e, A Most Anticipated Book of the Year\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew Statesman\u003c\/i\u003e Most Anticipated Book of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Mordant, torrential, incantatory, Bolano-esque, Perec-ian, and just so explosively written that I had to stop and shake the language-shrapnel from my hair and wipe it off my eyeglasses so I could keep reading.” —Jonathan Lethem\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Manic and thrillingly musical.\" —Dustin Illingworth, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A sardonic novel of poetry, plagiarism and literary politics that leans into its nihilism . . . Clever.\" —Sam Sacks, \u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eDead Souls\u003c\/i\u003e is an exceedingly cerebral comedy about the viability of contemporary poetry . . . One of the wittiest, sharpest, cruelest critiques of literary culture I’ve ever read. Riviere unleashes a flock of winged devils to tear apart the hermetically sealed world of privilege, praise and publication in which a few lucky writers dwell . . . What no summary can convey is the hypnotic effect of Riviere’s relentless prose . . . An astute, wildly original novel that talks trash about everyone whose success galls you. And there’s nothing quite so delicious as that.\" —Ron Charles, \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Sharp and funny.\" —Lily Meyer, NPR\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Hypnotic.\" —Meg Whiteford, \u003ci\u003eThe Believer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A brilliant and brilliantly entertaining novel. The writing is merciless; the rage is genuine . . . Exhilarating.\" —Toby Litt, \u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"An ingenious and authentic debut novel about privilege and public vilification in the arts sector . . . Entirely original.\" —Jonathan McAloon, \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e (UK)\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"Whip-smart . . . Weirdly hypnotic . . . The strange and inexplicable abound: there are conspiracies, clues and delicious Nabokovian red herrings . . . \u003ci\u003eDead Souls\u003c\/i\u003e is a real achievement.\" —Tristram Fane Saunders, \u003ci\u003eThe Daily Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Readers will get caught up in the waywardness of this 300-page single-paragraph novel, following its numerous and surprising digressions wherever they may lead . . . The novel pinches its set-up from Camus’s \u003ci\u003eThe Fall\u003c\/i\u003e, veers close to Thomas Bernhard’s sweeping syntax and yokes together scuzz with the cult of poetry à la Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño . . . By stepping through \u003ci\u003eDead Souls\u003c\/i\u003e’ funhouse mirror, we see the current normal reality is as absurd and empty as an email. Yet, running through the novel is a skein of hope; stealing might not be as antisocial as it is usually made out. In fact, a little bit of plagiarism might be one of the most communal acts of all.\" —Sammi Gale, \u003ci\u003einews\u003c\/i\u003e (UK)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Inventive . . . Timely and provocative.\" —Arianna Rebolini, \u003ci\u003eBuzzFeed\u003c\/i\u003e, Best Summer Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eDead Souls\u003c\/i\u003e feels fresh, candid, and, though no one dares to use the word in this book, heartfelt.\" —Tim Parks, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“Riviere . . . artfully blends metaphysics, existentialism, ideas of originality, and plagiarism, plus an enticing dose of history and memoir in this captivating read.” —\u003ci\u003eReader's Digest\u003c\/i\u003e, A Best Fiction Book of the Year \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"Reminiscent of Thomas Bernhard and, more recently, the works of Lucy Ellman and Mike McCormack . . . Brilliantly inventive . . . Laugh out loud funny, harsh and savage, but also sobering and thoughtful.\" —Ian Mond, \u003ci\u003eLocus\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"The sheer brio and tumbling intelligence of Riviere’s narration lift almost every page. Once you catch the spuming surf of his prose–and, as with Bernhard or Marías, it does take a little time–you’ll want to ride the wave to the shore . . . Wickedly sharp.\" —Boyd Tonkin, \u003ci\u003eThe Arts Desk\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"Manic and relentless . . . Impeccably written.\" —Dana Hansen, \u003ci\u003eChicago Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"Riviere’s provocative debut novel . . . calls to mind Thomas Bernhard not only for its form but its rhythm and cadence . . . Will appeal to fans of Kate Zambreno’s Drifts.\" —\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eSam Riviere\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of a trilogy of poetry books, \u003ci\u003e81 Austerities\u003c\/i\u003e (2012) \u003ci\u003eKim Kardashian's Marriage\u003c\/i\u003e (2015), and \u003ci\u003eAfter Fame\u003c\/i\u003e (2020), all published by Faber, and a book of experimental prose, \u003ci\u003eSafe Mode\u003c\/i\u003e (Test Centre, 2017). He teaches at Durham University and lives in Edinburgh where he runs the micropublisher If a Leaf Falls Press.","brand":"Catapult","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304899006693,"sku":"NP9781646220281","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781646220281.jpg?v=1730758783","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/dead-soulsisbn-9781646220281","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}