Arcadia

by Jim Crace

Book Overview

As his assistant plans a baccanalian fete to celebrate his employer's eightieth birthday, Victor, a man who rose from dire poverty to immense wealth, makes plans of his own. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 068912158X
• Release Date: October 1992
• Publisher: Scribner
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.8" x 1.0" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

A Marketplace of Words

This guy can write! This is not a book I would have read had I not previously read Crace. This is not a book about anything I particularly have an interest in. I enjoyed every page. His style makes it seem you are there as the events are taking place. This is not a book where you know every detail about each character. They are developed to move the story along. It's all about the feeling of the setting and the main character and a way of life. Crace continues to prove he can write unique books. His aren't formulaic or rehashes of his previous works. Highly recommended!

Things Change?Or Do They

Jim Crace is one of the most original authors I have had the pleasure of reading. I've now read four of his works having completed, "Arcadia", the third novel the author published. An easy error to make would be to state that Jim Crace does not write about topics that have never been tested before. My response would be that not many authors do. What sets the innovators apart from the imitators is their ability to bring you to a theme you believe you have experienced only to have it adjusted so the view you are given is unique in its presentation.Much of what I have read in his first three works deals with change. Who causes or inflicts it, and those that are generally not in a position to amend it. This is not always because the change is some manner of preconceived evil. Often those that are affected simply surrender; they either lack the will or the resources to adapt. He often takes a group, as he has done here, that share very common beginnings, however some move beyond their peers with results that are decidedly mixed.Prior to starting his novels a quote often foretells of what is to come. The idea expressed is more important than the literal interpretation, and in the case of, "Arcadia" it begins, "The tallest buildings throw the longest shadows (thus Great Men make their Mark by blocking out the sun, and, seeking Warmth themselves, cast Cold upon the rest)". The quote is from Emile dell'Ova, and the work, "Truisms" dated 1774. Tall is a relative term, and I would imagine the author of, "Truisms", never-imagined how tall buildings would be.Victor began his life at the lowest rung that was on offer. By the age of 80 he has added rungs as he has needed them, co-opted his adversaries, and lives a life that is both solitary and predicated on getting even. In this he is as successful as Sisyphus, or perhaps not. His Fixer is a man named Rook. This man takes the shortest route between two points to reach his goals, not unlike the chess piece that is confined to moving in only a straight line.Arcadia as produced by Victor is supposed to improve the lives and businesses of the same class of merchants to which he once belonged. As Victor explains nothing is changing other than the counters are getting higher. First you sat on mats to sell your fruit, and then it was raised onto a cart, and now will be cradled in climate-controlled comfort.All this sounds familiar, not unlike the massive mall that kills the downtown merchant. Jim Crace takes the elements of progress and the darker sides of business together with those who practice them on an entirely new ride. When you gain the end of the tale virtually all the main characters can either be vilified or celebrated. Black becomes white, adversary becomes friend.Mr. Crace is not an imitator, his work also required a bit of getting used to. Once you are in step with the cadence of his thoughts you will find he is a thought-provoking author of the highest merit.

A vivid, beautiful novel

Jim Crace uses words as van Gogh used paint -- they are thick, sensual, palpable. Read this book for the descriptions of the market alone, for few writers are so capable of manipulating the reader's senses.But there's more to this book than stunning language. The story is engaging and powerful, the characters almost mythic. It's as if Dickens were rewritten by Hemingway trying to write like Faulkner.You won't, however, enjoy this book if you are in the mood for a rousing entertainment full of suspense and intrigue. It's far more languid than that, far more thoughtful. For Crace is after something here; he's following a hunch and digging up the dirt, trying to describe us all in our everyday purchases and accumulations, our bets and hedges and love of tall buildings, for there is a scheme behind these beautiful words, and ultimately the book shines a laser into the heart of market capitalism. Perhaps you should read it while reading Thorstein Veblen, too.Or perhaps not. No, don't worry about the deep implications and mirrors on reality. Sink your mind's teeth into this book, and let the juices flow where they may. It's Crace's third book, and his best up to this point, but there's a greater gift here, too, for once you have finished it don't despair: his later work is even better.

Sinister & Sensual

Jim Crace has yet to let this reader down! Arcadia is so thourough in its subject matter that you actually want to participate in the outcome. What appears to be the ambitions of one man, turns into the ambitions of everyone. The story takes you through several bizarre characters and their quest for importance. You get a birs-eye view of the wealthly, the poor, the up-and -coming and you really don't know who to root for. The ending is to say the least exciting and unexpected with creative, unimaginable detail this is book should be required reading for bibliophiles everywhere.

There's a lyricism to it.

I discovered myself to be involuntarily (and delightedly) reading the book aloud. Crace invents a world that is entirely real and self-contained. I was reminded of Tolkien.