Review by New York Times Review
"WHO knows what you mean by love?" This question, posed by the immoderately gifted Nick Laird in his 2007 poem "Estimates," runs like a burning filament through the heart of his fiction and poetry. And it illuminates his new novel, "Glover's Mistake," in which Laird returns to themes he has explored in two poetry collections and his first novel, "Utterly Monkey." He continues to be interested in male friendship, in loyalty and in how the arrival of a woman can upend the cultivated effortlessness of those friendships. But "Glover's Mistake" tones down the rollicking beat of its predecessor and sings in a deeper, darker, more controlled key. Deceptively slim, it is as layered as any of Laird's poems, a searching, heartfelt meditation on the mistakes of youth (and beyond). From the moment we meet the feckless David Pinner, he is obsessing over his former teacher, the American artist Ruth Marks, who has come to London for a spell as an artist-in-residence. David is one of those hapless creatures who infer in every polite gesture the possibility of something greater, although it's clear at the outset that Ruth barely remembers her former charge. Nor does an age difference of 12 years give him pause. That is, until he introduces Ruth to his roommate, the sweetly naïve and even younger James Glover. When Ruth and James fall swiftly and fiercely in love, their age difference is merely one tack the inconsolably jealous David exploits to sabotage the relationship. That Laird pins his novel on this unrepentant loser is an act of defiant courage in an age when audiences often demand likable protagonists. Out of his depth among artists, and blessed with an unerring gift for saying the wrong thing at any given moment, David lies, manipulates his friends and even resorts to vicious blogging - an lago for the digital age. Laird brilliantly captures the ressentiment of vitriolic bloggers, with their nasty habits: "He was searching not for things to love but a place to put his rage." Similarly, Ruth Marks is not easy to like, elusive and brusque, all artistic self-absorption and sharp edges. Nor is the search for love especially romantic here. As "Glover's Mistake" moves from parties to openings to ateliers, Laird pays particular attention to the toll that technoculture has taken on relationships. Courtship is conducted elliptically via cellphones, text messages, e-mail and blogs. David may compare his computer's demise with the death of Lear's daughter, but Laird's sympathies appear to reside with a simpler time: "This hour must once have been the kingdom of the lamplighters, and subject to their piecemeal, point-by-point illumination, but now the street lights all came on in a single instant pulse, a blink." The first third of "Glover's Mistake" is occasionally marred by a bit too much telling and not quite enough showing. And at times, Laird's consciousness seems to overwhelm his characters'. It's hard to know, for example, for whom Laird speaks with this lovely line: "The restive black river, slicing through the city, granted new perspectives." But through it all, there's a charming sweetness, a lightness that infuses poor dear James Glover, a naïf who asks David: "How d'you get sophisticated feelings? I can't manage it. You feel what you feel." Of course, he's seeking the worst possible counsel, and Glover's real mistake lies in trusting the wrong person. In his poem "Posture of Army," Laird writes that "Enemies define you/better/than your friends." "Glover's Mistake" is a dense, moving cautionary tale about what happens when you haven't yet learned to tell the difference between them. David lies, schemes and resorts to vicious blogging: an Iago for the digital age. Mark Sarvas's novel, "Harry, Revised," has just been released in paperback.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [October 27, 2009]
Review by Booklist Review
David, a depressed and frustrated high-school English teacher, is thrilled with the chance to reconnect with the glamorous American artist Ruth Marks, a former teacher of his. He is less thrilled when Ruth begins an affair with David's roommate, the significantly younger Glover. What sets this romantic triangle apart is the depth of all three of its characters. All are at turns likable and despicable, full of both humor and pathos. Laird's witty satire of the London art scene and those who criticize it adds an extra dimension to the novel. A novel for grown-ups who want to read about other grown-ups.--Block, Marta Segal Copyright 2009 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
It's hard to like a self-appointed cultural critic, but teacher-by-day, blogger-by-night David Pinner makes it schadenfreude-fun when he turns his loathing scope on his closest friends and then himself in Laird's latest (after Utterly Monkey). David, an oafish 35-year-old Londoner, reunites with Ruth Marks, the gorgeous and famous 47-year-old American artist who briefly taught him (and promptly forgot him) in college. David falls for her while she's in town for an artist-in-residence program, but Ruth prefers David's bartending flatmate, Glover, a 23-year-old virgin grappling with faith and the father he's left behind. Though David succinctly lambastes the very idea of love ("Information killed it"), he plots to wedge himself between Glover and Ruth-sometimes with an epically intense dishonesty. Whether David is saving his sometimes overwhelmingly flawed friends from a tragic error or making one himself-or both-the book offers a bit of twisted redemption in its hilarious nod to selfishness of all stripes. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
David, a mid-thirties Londoner teacher/amateur art critic, seeks validation from those whom he disdains: the famous and the successful. A true coward, he voices his contempt anonymously, via his blog, without risk of having to stand up for his own vituperous opinions. Learning that his former art teacher is in town, he manages a reconnection. An American artist-in-residence, Ruth is in her late forties, worldly, provocative, perched at the center of her own universe. She has a history of bringing people into her intense orbit and then disposing of them. In the mix are her privileged art dealer, lesbian ex-lover, and angry daughter. Everyone is always on edge, except for the clueless Glover, who is merely being swept along with the massive tide of egos in this crowd. He is David's buff young flatmate, who falls under the spell of Ruth's gaze, not realizing that she merely sees her younger self in his reflection. VERDICT In his second novel, following Utterly Monkey (2006), award-winning poet Laird has composed an unlikely group portrait with images and events moving at rapid speed, sometimes as blurred as the Tube rushing by. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 3/15/09.]--Susanne Wells, P.L. of Cincinnati & Hamilton Cty., OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Laird (Utterly Monkey, 2006, and the husband of novelist Zadie Smith) returns with a comedy of manners concerning romance in the transcontinental art world. A native of Northern Ireland who later lived in London and now teaches in New York, Laird has positioned himself perfectly with this book. The fast-paced setup quickly engages the reader: A 35-year-old teacher and sometimes art blogger named David Pinner learns of a London exhibition by his former teacher, an American artist named Ruth Marks. David remembers Ruth as having a profound effect on his life, and he was apparently more than a little smitten with her, but an age gap of 13 years seemed insurmountable then. David remains undaunted when Ruth has no memory of him, and the two renew (or start) a friendship that David plainly hopes will blossom into something more. Yet his wishes go awry once Ruth meets David's 23-year-old flat mate, James Glover, a bartender who is considerably less cultured but much better looking. Perhaps because she inhabits a world of aesthetics, the thrice-married Ruth falls hard for this innocent less than half her age, though some crucial character revelations make it hard for them to consummate their relationship. Though James is the titular character, the novel is more about Davidhow he seethes and schemes, revealing so much of his character in his attempts to subvert the relationship between the two people to whom he apparently feels closest. There's a romantic triangle, though Ruth barely acknowledges David's interest as more than friendship (making him feel "like a eunuch,") while James intuits that David might be more jealous of Ruth's claim on James than vice versa. As David begins an online flirtation and continues to write supercilious, self-serving blog entries for the deliciously named Damp Review, the reader must discover whether Ruth or David is James Glover's Mistake. Another sharply observed book by a very funny writer, though this time there's more charm than depth. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by New York Times Review
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
