Each house on Pepys Road, an ordinary street in London, has seen its fair share of first steps and last breaths, and plenty of laughter in between. But each of the street's residents--a rich banker and his shopaholic wife, a soccer prodigy from Senegal, Pakistani shop owners, a dying old woman and her graffiti-artist son--is receiving a menacing postcard with a simple message: We Want What You Have. Who is behind this? What do they really want? In Capital, John Lanchester (an elegant and wonderfully witty writer--New York Times) delivers a warm and compassionate novel that captures the anxieties of our time--property values going up, fortunes going down, a potential terrorist around every corner--with an unforgettable cast of characters.
Industry Reviews
Brilliant. --Lizzie Skurnick As enrapturing as it is psychologically acute... Capital portrays an authentic slice of contemporary life on the eve of change in a way that recalls Franzen--with a welcome touch of wry humor. It is Lanchester's gifts for observation and description that make Capital such a riveting read. It is a novel in which every few chapters a sentence will provoke an "I wish I had said that" reaction or, when it is a familiar thought, an: "I wish I had said that so well." ... Above all, Lanchester should be applauded for a novel that is as readable as it is clever. He never attempts to prove his own intelligence, yet it oozes from every page. The book John Lanchester was born to write. An exceptionally capacious and involving tale about disparate lives in turmoil on London's Pepys Road.... Lanchester makes us care deeply about his imperiled characters and their struggles, traumatic and ludicrous, as he astutely illuminates the paradoxes embedded in generosity and greed, age and illness, financial crime and religious fanaticism, immigration, exile, and terror. A remarkably vibrant and engrossing novel about what we truly value. --Donna Seaman Effortlessly brilliant--gripping for its entire duration, hugely moving and outrageously funny. Brilliant. --Lizzie Skurnick" As enrapturing as it is psychologically acute Capital portrays an authentic slice of contemporary life on the eve of change in a way that recalls Franzen with a welcome touch of wry humor. " Capital comes in a great tradition of novels which are filled with the news of now, in which the intricacies of the present moment are noticed with clarity and relish and then brilliantly dramatized. It is clear that its characters, its wisdom, and the scope and range of its sympathy, will fascinate readers into the far future. --Colm Toibin, author of Brooklyn" Precise, humane and often hilarious, John Lanchester s Capital teems with life. Its Dickensian sweep and its clear-eyed portrayal of the end of a strange era make this novel not only immensely enjoyable, but important, too. --Claire Messud, author of The Emperor s Children" Searching, expert, on the money. I loved it. --Joseph O Neill, author of Netherland" Delightful. . . . Fresh, astutely observed, and a lot of fun.--Sebastian Smee Brilliant.--Lizzie Skurnick Full of spectacular comedy and menace. . . . The effect is like one of those cut-away illustrations that show the interior of every room in an apartment complex.--Ron Charles" A big, funny, sure-footed novel . . . rich in observation and warm in spirit.--Dan Kois Like getting a crash course in the transformation of British mores and class distinctions. [A] nuanced portrait of a country in flux.--Liesl Schillinger Brimming with perception, humane empathy and relish, its portrayal of this metropolitan miscellany is, in every sense, a capital achievement. Full of spectacular comedy--and menace. . . . The effect is like one of those cut-away illustrations that show the interior of every room in an apartment complex.--Ron Charles Searching, expert, on the money. I loved it.--Joseph O'Neill, author of Netherland Not only immensely enjoyable but important, too.--Claire Messud, author of The Burning Girl Full of spectacular comedy--and menace.--Ron Charles Perfect fireside reading that captures the Trollopean 'way we live now' without putting on grand airs.--James Wolcott Fresh, astutely observed, and a lot of fun.--Sebastian Smee A big, funny, sure-footed novel...rich in observation and warm in spirit.--Dan Kois Capital comes in a great tradition of novels which are filled with the news of now, in which the intricacies of the present moment are noticed with clarity and relish and then brilliantly dramatized. It is clear that its characters, its wisdom, and the scope and range of its sympathy, will fascinate readers into the far future. --Colm Toibin, author of Brooklyn
