title: A Lonely Man by: Power, Chris published: 2021-03-30 read: 2021-08 preview

“A lonely man” by Chris Powell is a book about writers. And about a form of plagiarism. So it seems, from the beginning. In the nicely written, open, approachable beginning, a reading in a bookstore in Berlin, two writers meet. One in a writer’s block, one in a life’s block. And as their stories begin to intertwine – or rather, the story of the second solves the first – things unravel, finding a few people harmed or dead along the way, and the whole thing culminating to an empty end.

I had a hard time putting the book down, since I just wanted to know how this book, which starts as a literary intervention and ends as (political) thriller, ends, and if our heroes survive. But along the way, even though the wife of the protagonist is not completely flat (“I just want you to bring yourself”, how sweet), his daughters are, and the parents’ irritation with their kids is perhaps only intended to make the reader like the protagonist less. He’s not a hero, nor an interesting writer, nor an intellectual, nor does he grab the chance to have an ONS, but consumes quite enough alcohol. That’s present throughout the book, people drinking in abundance.

The book left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. Despite it playing in parts of the world I am quite familiar with, or maybe because of that, I do not recognise their description, it doesn’t feel homeish.

Anyway, spoiler: the book ends not dramatically, no direct heroes get killed, the book will not be finished I’m sure (unless this is it?!). And, Sergei Vanyashin is a fictitious oligarch.

“Because men,” said Karijn, the words a strangulated cry. “Wanting to be the richest, having the biggest boat, writing the best book. All those men crawling over each other to grab the factories or the oil or the copper. It’s disgusting.”