Antoine Wilson

Contemporary fiction seems to agree: the contemporary art world is shallow, largely fraudulent, and full of narcissists and sociopaths (what contemporary art makes of contemporary fiction, I don't know, but likely it sneers at its comparative earnings potential). In this novel for instance the wildly successful gallery owner and art dealer is a shallow narcissist and sociopath who, when complimented on his eye for modern art, replies that his eye is only talked about "because it would be impolite to talk about my balls. It's art. I could take anything and pump it up or tear it down."

Truth and beauty, eh. Perhaps it's lucky for us that contemporary novels are a poor investment.

At any rate, the novel is a well-paced and entertaining read, as comfortable as slipping into an old hoodie - even if it's your first time reading it.… (more)

Airport Fiction
Media: Audio
Read by: Edoardo Ballerini

I do not know what possessed me to choose this book. There are only two good things I can say about it:
1: It is very short
2: The reader Edoardo Ballerini does a good job with poor material.

A very brief synopsis: A man recognizes an old school pal called Jeff 20 yeas after their graduation, at an airport and approaches him. Jeff is rich, which is obvious from his clothes and hair style. He invites his old mate to the first-class lounge as their flight is delayed.

As they sit waiting, Jeff recounts his life story since they graduated, and to be fair, it starts off well. But gradually the shaggy-dog takes over and the flight keeps on being further delayed and the story goes on and on, and I keep thinking “it must end soon”, and eventually it does.

The moral of this story is that if you meet an old friend in an airport, tell them you have a flight to catch.… (more)