Author:Tom McCarthy
The most ambition and exciting novel yet from the Booker shortlisted author of C and Satin Island.
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. Gilbreth helped birth the era of mass observation and big data but did she also discover a 'perfect' movement 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 across geo-political fault lines and experimental zones in his search for it. And all the while, work is underway on the blockbuster film Incarnation, an epic space tragedy...
'Dazzling... The Making of Incarnation feels utterly original, utterly new, utterly magical' Neel Mukherjee, author of The Lives of Others
'Hugely interesting, energetic, wise and well written' GQ
'A rich and fascinating exercise in observation' Independent
In its conceptual magnitude, its sustainedly dazzling prose... The Making of Incarnation feels utterly original, utterly new, utterly magical... Tom McCarthy, the most visionary of contemporary writers, is light years ahead of anyone writing anywhere currently.
—— Neel MukherjeeA typically ambitious mille-feuille of modernity, symbolism and myth.
—— Katy Guest , GuardianOne of the most brilliantly intellectual novelists of the moment... The Making of Incarnation is like a ghostwritten hybrid of a John le Carré thriller, the post-modern philosophy of Jacques Derrida and a sci-fi romp all at the same time... There is something uplifting about McCarthy's work. He makes you think, and he makes you think things you hadn't thought before.
—— Stuart Kelly , Scotland on SundayHugely interesting, energetic, wise and well written.
—— Sam Leith , GQDifficulty is...part of the pleasure of reading McCarthy... The Making of Incarnation is a novel of motion rather than emotion; imagine an even chillier JG Ballard... a rich and fascinating exercise in observation
—— Charles Arrowsmith , IndependentA Kafka for the Google Age.
—— Daily Telegraph - Praise for 'Satin Island'Should you read the new Tom McCarthy book? (A: Yes. Always yes.)
—— Huffington Post - Praise for 'Satin Island'Favourite novel of 2015.
—— John Banville, the Observer - Praise for 'Satin Island'Here...McCarthy writes at the height of his powers, interweaving the new future with the recent past... The Making of Incarnation McCarthy adds to his reputation as one of our most knowledgeable and perceptive novelists.
—— BookmunchAmusing, affecting, effervescent
—— GuardianIt is intricate, ingenious, propulsive - but it is also affecting
—— ScotsmanAn extraordinary mix of existential thriller and speculative fiction. Questions of philosophy, mathematics and astrophysics bend this novel far from the typical mold, and Le Tellier's characters must confront the deepest questions of existence. This thought-provoking literary work deserves a wide readership
—— Publishers WeeklyA French literary phenomenon...The Anomaly captured a moment when the pandemic stopped the world and existence veered toward the virtual. It swerves between various genres - science fiction, a thriller, love stories, an introspective work - without being confined by any of them
—— New York TimesWritten with such page-turning conviction that readers are guaranteed a thoroughly enjoyable intellectual workout
—— The TimesThe buzz around this Goncourt prize-winner is richly deserved, and just when you think you've worked it out . . . well, you probably haven't
—— Daily MailIntriguing
—— SFXA flight of imagination you'll be rolling over in your mind long after deplaning
—— Washington PostA striking thought experiment...Le Tellier delivers some sharp social comedy here. But behind the comedy are more profound psychological questions about individual freedom. The Anomaly is priceless
—— Times Literary SupplementA witty, erudite novel, teeming and minutely detailed, a treat throughout, with-at its centre-that head-spinning conceit that will leave you deep in thought for a long time after reading the final page. It is rare to have so much fun with something so intelligent
—— Nicolas Mathieu , author of And Their Children After Them, winner of the 2018 Prix GoncourtThe Anomaly is thought-provoking and philosophical yet thrilling too, with superbly drawn characters, a dynamic plot, and a fascinating question at its heart - what if the entire world as we know it is a lie?
—— Andrew Hunter MurrayA speculative thriller from literary powerhouse Hervé le Tellier. Perfect for those who like their realities unstable
—— Crime ReadsMind-bending
—— The TimesHumorous, captivating, thoughtful - existentialism has never been so thrilling
—— Kirkus ReviewsManifest meets Lost in The Anomaly...a puzzle box of a sci-fi thriller
—— PopSugarAn extraordinary, fast-paced, disturbing novel, perfect for these extraordinary, fast-paced, disturbing times. Think Steven Spielberg meets Umberto Eco with a side order of black humour, generously sprinkled with genuine emotion
—— Sam Taylor , author of The Island At The End Of The WorldA uniquely, gloriously, provocatively French contribution to the sci-fi thriller genre - it will keep you guessing, get your heart pounding, and make you feel and wonder and - above all - think
—— Sam J. Miller , Nebula-Award winning author of Blackfish CityIn The Anomaly, Hervé Le Tellier has delivered a volatile and compelling thriller that has you hurtling toward the mystery at the heart of the novel from page one. The Anomaly is a gripping and moving blend of Blake Crouch's Dark Matter, the television show Lost, with a bit of The Philadelphia Experiment thrown in for good measure. I couldn't put it down.
—— Terry Miles , author of RabbitsExhilarating, thought-provoking, funny, and devastating. The Anomaly is unlike anything else I've read this year
—— Laure Van Rensburg , author of Nobody But UsI was completely blown away by this genre-defying masterpiece. Part thriller, part philosophical rumination on what makes us human, and with a dash of theoretical physics; this is an absolute must-read
—— Sarah Bonner , author of Her Perfect TwinThe Anomaly is a brilliant balancing act of a novel, a fantastic rush and ride that works on myriad levels, at various depths, and in a multitude of styles. It's a precise and erudite literary treat, a comedic sociopolitical-religious skewering of these contemporary times, a philosophical-scientific-mathematical dive into the puzzles of possibility, space, and time, and an ingenious thought experiment that lends itself easily to ad infinitum analysis and dissection. It's also entirely grounded in human nature. Le Tellier's pointillistic characters are, like all of us, buffeted by desires, seeking love, striving, aging, making good and bad decisions, choosing the right or wrong paths, believing they know and understand themselves, utterly trusting in free will. Highly intelligent, ironic without cheap cynicism, The Anomaly is an immensely fun novel, an immersive experience that leaves the reader analysing everything anew
—— Cherise Wolas , author of The Resurrection of Joan Ashby and The Family TaborThe year has only just begun but I will be surprised if I read something as astonishing as The Anomaly in the next 12 months
—— ScotsmanIt's dizzying, exhilarating, brilliant!
—— Nicholas Carreau , Europe 1An intoxicating mix of the magical and life's big questions
—— Financial TimesHervé le Tellier's new novel is an exquisite, insane surprise. Quite simply astounding
—— Le Journal du DimancheAn addictive page-turner, The Anomaly flirts with thriller and science fiction, and mirrors the best televisions series in its very effective orchestration of suspense. Filled with fascination existential and metaphysical questions, this is an effective, funny and discreetly melancholy novel
—— Le MondeA brilliant, extremely inventive book. Like an astounding screenplay for an American blockbuster, written by a Frenchman who is having fun with it
—— Olivia de Lamberterie , France 2Hervé le Tellier has written an impossible novel. It's a thriller but also a fantasy. A choral novel, which is also surrealist. An adventure, a page turner, a bestseller, but also an experimental, highly literary work
—— Frederic Beigbeder , Le Figaro MagazineA delight. Intricate, ingenious, propulsive - but also affecting, with numerous moments that are terribly poignant along with its puzzles and winks
—— iHow would society respond to the inexplicable? This is the question the author tries, with intelligence, elegance and humour, to answer. Hervé le Tellier has written a frank and gripping novel with complex, moving characters. You won't be able to put it down!
—— Claire Bitaudeau , Librairie MillepagesEffervescent playfulness . . . Hilariously deadpan
—— GuardianThe novel is a tour de force which both dives into the personal lives of several characters and at the same time gives a group perspective on an international event which verges on science fiction. The taut rhythm of the investigation keeps the reader on tenterhooks
—— Toute La CultureThe situations are mad, but the questions they raise, far less so. Such is the profundity of this astonishing book: it makes light of itself, lending an air of fantasy to the fates of its characters, while Hervé le Tellier holds a mirror up before us
—— Le FigaroA master of one-touch characterisation. Le Tellier's genius is in making the unimaginable feel authentic
—— MetroLe Tellier, throughout this flight, deposits on the tarmac his stunned reader, ready to applaud
—— L'OpinionLe Tellier is a masterful writer and his staggering story verges on thriller and science fiction
—— Version FeminaSomewhere between fable and science fiction, it's a fascinating novel
—— La Depeche du MidiThe novel weaves a surprising story out of several narrative threads which give Hervé le Tellier the opportunity to touch on as many literary genres as he does themes, in a biting and often funny critique of the start of the 21st century
—— En Attendant NadeauExcellent...at once zeitgeisty, intelligent, and entertaining
—— Charlie HebdoFantastic...The Anomaly wears its name well: it's rare in France that a work combines the best of American TV series with an impeccable mastery of the French psychological novel
—— Elle FranceDizzying, compelling
—— RTE GuideMind-bending. Herve Le Tellier's emotional and intellectual rollercoaster is well worth the ride
—— The Times Literary SupplementA delightfully confounding thriller . . . Le Tellier's prose is beautifully efficient and capable of quiet devastation
—— London Review of Books