Joe Mungo Reed zkoumá složité vztahy mezi touhou, ambicí a společenským postavením. Jeho próza se vyznačuje pronikavým vhledem do lidské psychiky a precizním jazykovým stylem. Reedovy příběhy často balancují na hraně mezi realitou a snovou atmosférou, nutí čtenáře zpochybňovat vlastní vnímání světa. Jeho dílo představuje významný příspěvek do současné literární krajiny.
'A dazzling debut by an exciting and essential new talent' George Saunders, Man Booker Prize winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo For Sol and Liz, competition is everything. On the road or in the lab, it's all on the line.
2013. Much of the world still reels from the global economic collapse, yet in the auction rooms of London artworks are selling for record-breaking prices. Martin, a junior specialist at a prestigious auction house, spends his days catering to the whims of obscenely wealthy clients and his nights drinking in grubby pubs. A chance meeting with Marina, an old university friend, whose husband, Oleg, is an art-collecting oligarch. Chafing against his diminishing influence in his homeland, Oleg appears ready to relinquish his priceless art collection long coveted by London's auction houses-- and Martin is determined to secure the sale and transform his career. -- adapted from jacket