Contrapposto

Cricket is just a shy kid who likes drawing when he first meets Olympia. She's older, more confident; she bullies him into some light vandalism and instantly he's in love. When they're together, they talk about their futures, how they're going to travel the world, the beauty and rapture of art.

Then those futures start to arrive in unexpected ways, the years and decades pile up between them, the art world seduces and disappoints and frustrates them. And they have to figure out, again and again, what it is to be an artist, and who and what to love.

This is a wild and beautiful novel about two friends who believe they can change the world, if only they can start their own movement, dodge charlatans, remain open-eyed and open-hearted, avoid going mad, avoid dying young of rare cancers, stay true to their ideals and never tire of beauty. Not easy, but not impossible, either.



About the Author :
Dave Eggers is the author of many books, among them The Every, The Circle, The Monk of Mokha, A Hologram for the King, What Is the What, and The Museum of Rain. He is the cofounder of 826 National, a network of youth writing centers, and Voice of Witness, an oral history book series that illuminates the stories of those impacted by human rights crises. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Eggers has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and is the recipient of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, the American Book Award and the Newbery Medal, for the most distinguished contribution to children's literature with The Eyes and the Impossible.
daveeggers.net



Review :
Contrapposto answers the question, "Why are novels irreplaceable?" From page one, I fell in love with its perfectly flawed characters, its big beating heart, its brain and its language. What a sublime act of fiction Then you get a piece of work that blows you away and shows you the possibilities and beauty of literature. That's how I feel about Dave Eggers' new book Contrapposto. When you read a novel like that, it's really inspiring . . . Every writer should be aiming high like that I've seldom read a book so engaging as Contrapposto. Eggers writes with a narrative sure-footedness that is very attractive, his central characters both fully alive and at the same time almost completely mysterious. The story's focus is on the visual arts, and love, and both, and its touch is no heavier than a hummingbird's. I couldn't see how he did it Contrapposto is an earthy, warm return to form . . . A novel of ideas, exploring the meaning of art and the unfairness, pretensions and occasional skullduggery of the art world Dave Eggers has written a big-hearted, deeply moving story about the choices artists make, or don't make, to square up their own notions of success and happiness Glorious and captivating, with Eggers' signature humour and precision, Contrapposto tells a big and big-hearted story that counter-positions exquisitely the pain and exhilarations of love and the creative impulse. I loved this novel This is a portrait of an artist as a young man, but then on through life, to the end, told by one of our finest artists. With Contrapposto, Dave Eggers gives us, generously and precisely, clear and bright, a story about why we create, and how we love This book speaks to my heart. With wit, wisdom, and deep empathy, Contrapposto asks all the hard questions that haunt and enliven a creative life - about art and beauty, about commerce and class, about the cost of passion and the price of success A book of profundity, humanity and ravishing beauty - the only kind of book I want to read Entertaining and moving The book's greatest strength is undoubtedly Eggers's understated comic gift . . . Wonderfully observed . . . Like contrapposto itself, the novel finds its balance by refusing easy symmetry; off-centre, out of kilter, alive Dave Eggers' new novel Contrapposto begins with a simple question: What is art? The answer turns out to be a stunning high-wire act and, boy, does Eggers stick the landing. Better yet, the book is a love story that just won't quit Contrapposto is extraordinary, a lucid and passionate Künstlerroman and a drawing of the negative space around the contemporary art world. Cricket, given great talent and passion, is also a quiet rebel: his inability to agree to any of the small compromises necessary to become a big name is what keeps his art a pure, good, white-hot thing Wonderful - both gentle and gripping, simple and profound, personal and universal - I feel so very glad to have read it. Contrapposto is a kind novel; good-hearted, alive and alert to possibility and beauty in all situations Contrapposto is, unashamedly, an old-fashioned novel about creativity - what it's for, who gets to access it, and why one might want to engage with it at all. . . And in its attention to the human joy of making things and making meanings, it shows how good might just mean good enough An insightful, caustically funny, at times tragic, and truly profound inquiry into the making and meaning of art Eggers has been a reliably inventive, big-swing storyteller with a knack for mixing heart, humoUr, and a little cultural side-eye . . . What begins as a grade-school act of vandalism becomes a 65-year entanglement of friendship, collaboration, and longing The inimitable Dave Eggers returns with a book about life, love and art, featuring the classically trained artist's own work . . . So begins 50 years of dancing around the art world and each other as they search for love, meaning, loyalty and more A tour de force A tender, searching novel for readers still devastated by Sally Rooney's Normal People Contrapposto is by turns wistful and humorous, a wide-angle, wholly absorbing study of deep friendship and making meaning through art A pleasure from start to finish . . . This is a big-hearted, funny novel about friendship and art - more intimate than his usual style, but with the rich characterisation and commentary Eggers is known for. A pleasure to get lost in and a hard one to forget A romantic epic Brilliant. A novel of ideas as well as a love story . . . read this moving, clever, fine novel. In this satisfyingly old-school novel, an artist tries to find his place, and hold onto his spark, in a world that values fads and flash. . . . Contrapposto is an earthy, warm return to form . . . . To call the book 'moving' would be a smelly cliché, so let's say undulating, with both despair and hope Eggers has written a big-hearted, deeply moving story about the choices artists make, or don't make, to square up their own notions of success and happiness . . . As Contrapposto arrives at its beautiful, life-affirming conclusion, we are left pondering the significance of artistic endeavour in a world that commodifies everything, including our bodies and brains. At a time when even the greatest achievements are debased in a culture that gives equal weight to meretricious novelty, is it even worth the trouble? Eggers' brilliant novel has the answer: Follow your bliss. In the final analysis, it is all that matters Contrapposto is a rare thing, a smart book about the joy of being creative and open to everything A moving, humane and witty portrait of the lifelong friendship Eggers has been a reliably inventive, big-swing storyteller with a knack for mixing heart, humor, and a little cultural side-eye . . . What begins as a grade-school act of vandalism becomes a 65-year entanglement of friendship, collaboration, and longing The inimitable Dave Eggers returns with a book about life, love and art, featuring the classically trained artist's own work . . . So begins 50 years of dancing around the art world and each other as they search for love, meaning, loyalty and more Contrapposto is, unashamedly, an old-fashioned novel about creativity - what it's for, who gets to access it, and why one might want to engage with it at all. . . And in its attention to the human joy of making things and making meanings, it shows how good might just mean good enough A funny, affecting, hearteningly human told story told in aptly beautiful prose With Contrapposto, Dave Eggers delivers one from the heart . . . A sincere and sweeping American novel that feels like the product of another literary time, it is free of the nudging cynicism and despondency that is the de facto tone of so much fiction now, instead cleaving tenderly to the idea that it is possible to remain unjaded in this world if you hold on to yourself . . . The novel succeeds not in spite of its emotional purity but because of it Exemplary . . . Contrapposto is not just about art, it's about friends too. . . The way [Cricket and Olympia] fall back into one another's lives as the decades pass, knowing one another as nobody else really does, is deeply satisfying. . . Impressive Dave Eggers is a writer who can convey both warmth and darkness, often at the same time. As with The Circle or A Hologram for the King, he proves once again that he's not shy of taking on big, powerful entities - in this instance, the art world Eggers has done it again . . . Staggering genius? Possibly Having just returned from holiday, I know that it's worth packing Dave Eggers's magnificent new novel Contrapposto, which unfolds over six decades and 400 pages with two unforgettable lead characters, Cricket and Olympia, at its heart Filled with humour, heart and unforgettable characters, it's a moving exploration of friendship, creativity and the lifelong search for beauty and meaning. Dave Eggers delivers another deeply human and thought-provoking novel Through the enduring friendship between two wandering souls, Eggers asks what we want from each other and from ourselves. A story of love told with love, this is Eggers at his best A sweeping story about love and art . . . A beautiful and heartwarming story, Contrapposto is the perfect book for the sultry summer heat This is a big-hearted, funny novel about friendship and art - more intimate than his usual style, but with the rich characterisation and commentary Eggers is known for. A pleasure to get lost in and a hard one to forget One of America's most consistently interesting novelists . . . [Contrapposto] is a sweetly elegiac tale