'This book will save your life': it's a bold claim. In A.M. Homes's new novel, Richard Novak has systematically removed himself from the world of human relationships. In the wake of a failed marriage, he moved to Los Angeles and set up a perfectly ordered existence. He stopped going to work years ago; instead, each morning he checks the market while exercising on his treadmill and drinks his special breakfast shakes. The only people he sees are his nutritionist, trainer, house-cleaner and masseuse - women who nurture him professionally. Most of the time, he manages not to think about his son, Ben, or his workaholic ex-wife. Yet there is an atmosphere of foreboding: 'He stands at the glass. The mechanical sounds of the house catch him off-guard. Ice tumbles into the freezer bin, the coffeepot begins to fill with water, air whooshes out of the vent, billowing up the leg of his pants. He shudders.' Two crises shake Richard from his torpor: a mysterious hole appears in the ground behind his house, and a crippling pain sends him to the hospital.

LRB 22 June 2006 | PDF Download