A Lonely Man

Review An intricate and elegant story, and cleverly metatextual. A Lonely Man is an exploration of the creative process, and the sacrifices that are made in real life in the pursuit of art. ― Irish TimesAn elegant, atmospheric story of shadows and half-truths... a taut, subtle, postmodern literary thriller written with an exacting command over its form... The final 50 pages are so tense, I found myself both too stressed to go on and too stressed to stop, a total captive to the story. -- Johanna Thomas-Corr ― Sunday TimesA classy page-turner. Unbearably tense, the intricate narrative delivers electric drama as well as thought-provoking reflections on storytelling ethics. ― Mail on SundayPostmodern metafiction with an old-school plot, this is theslickest, smartest and most enjoyable novel I've read in years. -- Frances Wilson ― SpectatorPower holds in a state of suspension two distinct narrative modes. There is the Le Carré-esque Russian spy plot. then there is a looser, elegant literary flaneurism, reminiscent of Ben Lerner et al . . . This balancing act is expertly handled. -- Lamorna Ash ― Times Literary SupplementPower excels at capturing the small details and at nudging subtle shifts in relationships between his characters. ― Big IssueJohn le Carré and Roberto Bolaño are acknowledged, but unobtrusive influences on this slippery, ambiguous thriller. ― Daily MailChris Power's striking debut novel, A Lonely Man is first-rate... bursting with potent, beguiling prose. ― IndependentA slyly ensnaring literary thriller written in immaculate prose . . . Power's restraint pays off, making for a subtly immersive read, his sentences rippling like clear water even as the story's murkier undertow pulls you out to sea . . . A Lonely Man is a gripping and deftly controlled novel that proves Power is as good at writing books as he is at writing about them. ― Vanity FairThrilling. a vodka shot of a read: down in one and savour the afterburn. ― iNewsPower's talent lies in the narrative blend of psychological struggle and wider international espionage. . . A gripping finale. ― Financial TimesThe last third of A Lonely Man is so tense, so full of jeopardy, that it makes many thrillers feel underpowered. ― The TimesThrilling... Chris Power has a canny eye for the uncanny... Ambiguous networks of gazes allegorise the struggle for narrative mastery at the heart of A Lonely Man. -- Andrew Gallix ― The London MagazineA tense and unsettling narrative, part John le Carré's The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and part Janet Malcolm's 1990 study of the ethics of journalism, The Journalist and the Murderer . . . A Lonely Man is a gripping novel that balances political intrigue with personal danger. It is also a melancholy portrayal of male solitude and community. ― New StatesmanA Lonely Man is a remarkable debut; an accomplished and intricately plotted story that manages to be both thrilling and deeply considered. If you're a fan of existential crises, family dramas, Putin-era paranoias, and Bolaño-style multiplicities, and want to see them woven into one taut novel, you're in the right place. A lonely triumph. -- Jon McGregor Product Description A New Statesman Book of the Year 2021A Metro Book of the Year 2021A Washington Post '10 Best Thriller and Mystery Books of 2021''A taut, subtle, postmodern literary thriller.' SUNDAY TIMES'A remarkable debut; an accomplished and intricately plotted story.'-JON McGREGOR'A Lonely Man is a delicate snare of a novel.'-BRANDON TAYLOR 'A thrilling, unnerving novel. a page-turner with exacting syntax and emotional heft.'-CATHERINE LACEY 'Impressively deft. A Lonely Man is a tense and taut work.'-BENJAMIN MYERS'A classy page-turner.'MAIL ON SUNDAYRobert is a struggling writer living in Berlin with his wife and two young daughters. One night he meets Patrick, an enigmatic stranger with a sensational story to tell: a ghostwriter for a Russian oligarch - recently found hanged - who is now being followed. But i