Fiction

The Mark and the Void

The Mark and the Void

  • Downloads：2603
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-12-24 07:53:23
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Paul Murray
  • ISBN：0241953863
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

WINNER OF THE EVERYMAN WODEHOUSE PRIZE 2016

A comic masterpiece about love， art， greed and the banking crisis， from the author of Skippy Dies

What links the Investment Bank of Torabundo， www。myhotswaitress。com （yes， hots with an s， don't ask）， an art heist， a novel called For the Love of a Clown， a four-year-old boy named after TV detective Remington Steele， a lonely French banker， a tiny Pacific island， and a pest control business run by an ex-KGB man？ You guessed it 。 。 。

The Mark and the Void is Paul Murray's madcap new novel of institutional folly， following the success of his wildly original breakout hit， Skippy Dies。 While marooned at his banking job in the bewilderingly damp and insular realm known as Ireland， Claude Martingale is approached by a down-on-his-luck author， Paul， looking for his next great subject。 Claude finds that his life gets steadily more exciting under Paul's fictionalizing influence; he even falls in love with a beautiful waitress。 But Paul's plan is not what it seems-and neither is Claude's employer， the Bank of Torabundo， which inflates through dodgy takeovers and derivatives-trading until-well， you can probably guess how that shakes out。

The Mark and the Void is a stirring examination of the deceptions carried out in the names of art， love and commerce - and is also probably the funniest novel ever written about a financial crisis。

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Reviews

Divjot Kaur ，

Good audiobook。 Bit of a drag sometimes but the narrator's delivery is quite funny and engaging。 It's entertaining， some of the investment banking stuff was boring to me is all but surely someone who enjoys descriptions about banks and Dublin's economy would enjoy that too Good audiobook。 Bit of a drag sometimes but the narrator's delivery is quite funny and engaging。 It's entertaining， some of the investment banking stuff was boring to me is all but surely someone who enjoys descriptions about banks and Dublin's economy would enjoy that too 。。。more

zoë ，

This novel won't be for you unless you have an interest in French philosophy， the Irish 2000s financial crash， investment banking and art as a simulacrum （the art in the organic cafe is a metaphor for the whole damn thing）！！！！！！ Niche， mental， unlike anything I've ever read before。 I just can't make up my mind if that's a good thing or not。 This novel won't be for you unless you have an interest in French philosophy， the Irish 2000s financial crash， investment banking and art as a simulacrum （the art in the organic cafe is a metaphor for the whole damn thing）！！！！！！ Niche， mental， unlike anything I've ever read before。 I just can't make up my mind if that's a good thing or not。 。。。more

Maaya Hori ，

An interesting story plot and a surprising plot twist at the end！

Ryan Sego ，

Funny with a good ending。

Paul McCormack ，

Hard to match Skippy Dies。 It didn't but it's not bad Hard to match Skippy Dies。 It didn't but it's not bad 。。。more

Dylan ，

Have We Lost the Art of Subtlety in the Comic Novel， my column in the Wall Street Journo

Dianne Retzlaff ，

Rating should be closer to 3。5。 Story line is good and interesting （banking and Ireland）， but seems to drag on。 Good ending！

Littlegreengoblin ，

Towards the end， I had no idea what was happening。 I don't understand the characters' motivations or even how Paul and Claude fit in together。 Everything feels forced and dull and chaotic。 Really sad because I LOVED Skippy Dies and wanted the same kind of heart from it in this book。 Towards the end， I had no idea what was happening。 I don't understand the characters' motivations or even how Paul and Claude fit in together。 Everything feels forced and dull and chaotic。 Really sad because I LOVED Skippy Dies and wanted the same kind of heart from it in this book。 。。。more

G Frederick ，

Despite an ending that left quite a good taste in my mouth， I can't get away from the fact that it was quite a battle to get this book finished。 Before the closing pages of part 1 nothing of enough interest occurred to leave me wondering what would happen next。 That rhythm persisted throughout too， for the most part， occasionally throwing in something interesting only to disappear into banking jargon and unbelievable character relationships again for 70 pages。 There was the odd entertaining scen Despite an ending that left quite a good taste in my mouth， I can't get away from the fact that it was quite a battle to get this book finished。 Before the closing pages of part 1 nothing of enough interest occurred to leave me wondering what would happen next。 That rhythm persisted throughout too， for the most part， occasionally throwing in something interesting only to disappear into banking jargon and unbelievable character relationships again for 70 pages。 There was the odd entertaining scene here and there （mostly in nightclubs， strip joints， and various living rooms） but in general， we simply jumped from that boring banking jargon delivered by abhorrent characters to frustrating scenes in which Claude & Paul's bizarre relationship was persistently showcased for all its weirdness and inconceivability。 There was a whole host of supporting characters to dislike in equal measure too; Igor， Jurgen， assorted bank employees who were all named several times yet I still have no clue who they are or what they were about， assorted banking and political leaders that suffered the same fate in my memory as the bank employees， and the list goes on）。 Before the closing pages， I had struggled to like most of the characters involved or believe in their relationships。 Claude， for example， appeared to me to be both one-dimensional and yet weirdly irrational in some of his decisions。 Considering he was a level-headed chap， often delivering the voice of reason in several exchanges， I just couldn't understand or believe that he could fall in love with someone he'd barely spoken to， and sustain that love throughout， based solely on the plot of a novel written about his life by someone else。。。strange。 Also his relationship with Paul， I couldn't understand why Claude kept going back to him， it wasn't believable。 After the first indiscretion， there was nothing in Claude's character that suggested he would take him back， no less start paying him （not） to write his book。 I didn't see anything that made me think Claude would or should be sticking by someone that had let him down from start to finish and had never given him even the faintest hope that anything good would come of his antics。 Murray's explaining away of that relationship as Claude looking for things within himself driving him to do these things for Paul was just not believable enough， for me。 It wouldn't be fair to say that I didn't enjoy anything of this book though。 There were some laugh-out-loud lines in there and some clever Easter eggs dotted around。 It wasn't short on thought-provoking themes either， which I thought Murray did a good job of highlighting both overtly and subtly （the flaws in capitalism， prevalence of human selfishness/greed， cyclical nature of civilization）。 I am glad that I stuck it out until the closing few pages， which were enough to leave me feeling positive about the loose ends having been tied up succinctly。 I will give Murray's books another go as I think I would enjoy others in his writing style with a better plot/topic/setting。 。。。more

AlexF ，

A very meta novel where a surname-less writer called Paul befriends Claude， an investment banker， with the aim of tricking him in to helping him rob the bank without realising that they don't actually keep any money on site。 I really liked Murray's other two books （Skippy Dies and An Evening Of Long Goodbyes） and this is pretty great too， yet though it's more ambitious it also a little flawed imho， at times it feels quite preachy when it comes to the insanity of the financial world （not that I i A very meta novel where a surname-less writer called Paul befriends Claude， an investment banker， with the aim of tricking him in to helping him rob the bank without realising that they don't actually keep any money on site。 I really liked Murray's other two books （Skippy Dies and An Evening Of Long Goodbyes） and this is pretty great too， yet though it's more ambitious it also a little flawed imho， at times it feels quite preachy when it comes to the insanity of the financial world （not that I in any way disagreed with what he was saying）， and is repetitive on that front too。 Murray also makes the writer too unlikeable， and his actions are sometimes so shitty that Claude's friendship with him seems implausible， while there's a lot of references to the publishing industry and commentary on whether or not events taking place are believable or not which mostly work but it's a bloody fine line。 Despite all of that criticism it's still a book I enjoyed a good deal， one which is very， very funny in places and Murray's prose is nearly always impressive， but it's definitely my least favourite of his books so far。 4/5 。。。more

Jonathan Gruber ，

very cool premise for a book within a book。 Great writing， as with Skippy dies， and terrific comic timing and moments， as well as some really deep philosophical rumination on the nature of capitalism。 But dragged at parts as it went over and over the same ground。 A perfect book one hundred pages shorter - a very good one as is

Chris ，

The financial industry is greedy。 Add that to the apathy and stupidity of people in general and you see the perfect storm for the downfall of Western civilizations and the consequential effects on the global population and environment as a whole。 That is the upshot of this novel， that takes as its context the economic phenomenon that was the defined as the Celtic Tiger period of the mid late 1990's and early 2000's in Ireland。However， even with the complex challenges （to many， me at least） of fi The financial industry is greedy。 Add that to the apathy and stupidity of people in general and you see the perfect storm for the downfall of Western civilizations and the consequential effects on the global population and environment as a whole。 That is the upshot of this novel， that takes as its context the economic phenomenon that was the defined as the Celtic Tiger period of the mid late 1990's and early 2000's in Ireland。However， even with the complex challenges （to many， me at least） of finances， money maths and economics; this novel also highlights that there is beauty to be found in fine art， the appreciation of philosophy and literature and the observance of individual human nature even in amongst the maelstrom of mundane life。 I found the use of a banker as a lead protagonist uniquely （again for me） ingratiating; And the relationship with the novel writing process of an emotionally damaged author made for a very entertaining plot driver。 。。。more

Maria ，

Incredible piece of work describing our modern life and managing to be funny， entertaining and non-predictable。 An interesting contrast with Beautiful World， Where Are You by Sally Rooney， which takes up the same topic of alienation of the modern life， but does it in a morbidly boring and whiny way。 Which is only to show that we still want stories。 At the risk of sounding crude - Paul Murray IS the shit。 This book should be read and enjoyed by everyone。

Kay Vee ，

Terrible book but I did laugh out loud several times。 Only recommend reading while on holiday - then make some room in your luggage for souvenirs of some sort by leaving the book behind on the community shelf

Stephanie Byrne ，

The ending made this book just better than ok but still not enough to say I truly liked this book。 I enjoyed the whole book in a book setup and had a d'oh moment when I realised that the authors name is Paul Murray and the main character's name is Paul。Other than that though， the book felt too long。 Whenever Paul wasn't in the book， it was boring and the while I appreciate that it's supposed be funny， the stupidity of nearly all the characters was just annoying。 It didn't have the oomph to make The ending made this book just better than ok but still not enough to say I truly liked this book。 I enjoyed the whole book in a book setup and had a d'oh moment when I realised that the authors name is Paul Murray and the main character's name is Paul。Other than that though， the book felt too long。 Whenever Paul wasn't in the book， it was boring and the while I appreciate that it's supposed be funny， the stupidity of nearly all the characters was just annoying。 It didn't have the oomph to make you chuckle， more like roll your eyes。All the shade thrown at the banking world got pretty laborious。 It kind of felt like Murray was going for American Psycho vibes but just didn't deliver it as well。 Here I am turning in to Mary Cutlass， sorry Murray。 Too much Void， not enough Mark。 。。。more

Jordan Cofer ，

I’d give it 3。5， but I went up。 I loved ‘Skippy Dies’ and this isn’t a bad follow up。 I like the post modernist playfulness， and I like some of the set pieces， but some of it got tiresome and went on for a while。

Celine Braga ，

Paul Murray is such a great author。 He made finance and banking sound so compelling。 It was so interesting as well to see how the financial crisis happened in that financial world。 This book made me angry about the system and how unfair it is for normal people living their lives with regular incomes to have a stable life in times of crisis and how other people have so much control over that。 It was so interesting and even though the language seemed hard to understand sometimes I was still glued Paul Murray is such a great author。 He made finance and banking sound so compelling。 It was so interesting as well to see how the financial crisis happened in that financial world。 This book made me angry about the system and how unfair it is for normal people living their lives with regular incomes to have a stable life in times of crisis and how other people have so much control over that。 It was so interesting and even though the language seemed hard to understand sometimes I was still glued to the book and wanted to know what happened， where is this story going and what is going to happen to the characters。 。。。more

Lotte Kok ，

Maat， Paul Murray is geweldig， kan er niet over uit

Paul Picillo ，

A funny hectic view of the financial traders and bankers lives of today。 Claude works for a bank in Dublin and is very good at analyzing financial matters。 He meets Paul ，a writer， who has writer's block。 He wants to do a book about Claude and the banking industry。 After Claude's Manager gives the go ahead， the story goes off the rails。。。。。 A funny hectic view of the financial traders and bankers lives of today。 Claude works for a bank in Dublin and is very good at analyzing financial matters。 He meets Paul ，a writer， who has writer's block。 He wants to do a book about Claude and the banking industry。 After Claude's Manager gives the go ahead， the story goes off the rails。。。。。 。。。more

Peter Bayuk ，

Absurd， hilarious and informative。 Part expose of the banking industry。 Part social satire。 Part love story。 Part self-reflexive book about the creation of the book you are reading。 Sharp dialogue and surreal yet too real moments of madness in the name of profit。 A shy， brilliant French banker and an out-of-work， desperate Irish writer with never-ending writer's block make an odd and often painful yet amusing pair。 A slow burn that definitely takes the patience and commitment of the reader to ge Absurd， hilarious and informative。 Part expose of the banking industry。 Part social satire。 Part love story。 Part self-reflexive book about the creation of the book you are reading。 Sharp dialogue and surreal yet too real moments of madness in the name of profit。 A shy， brilliant French banker and an out-of-work， desperate Irish writer with never-ending writer's block make an odd and often painful yet amusing pair。 A slow burn that definitely takes the patience and commitment of the reader to get through。 Murray often gets a bit self-indulgent with his colorful language and descriptions， often ruining the momentum of the narrative。 Philosophical and profound yet charming and relatable。 。。。more

Ilya ，

intensely entertaining， and I so admire the crisp， sensory writing

Gillian ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Absurd， hilarious， bizarre， yet somehow capturing the monotony of an office job all at the same time。 I loved this book and feel like there is so much to unpack。 I can't decide whether Murray's outlook is incredibly bleak or relentlessly positive。 Maybe both。 He definitely critiques/pokes fun at a lot， from banking， capitalism and consumer society， through to the point of art， art critics， sex work and the seeming futility of activism。 The plot itself isn't the point of this novel for me。 It loo Absurd， hilarious， bizarre， yet somehow capturing the monotony of an office job all at the same time。 I loved this book and feel like there is so much to unpack。 I can't decide whether Murray's outlook is incredibly bleak or relentlessly positive。 Maybe both。 He definitely critiques/pokes fun at a lot， from banking， capitalism and consumer society， through to the point of art， art critics， sex work and the seeming futility of activism。 The plot itself isn't the point of this novel for me。 It loosely follows Claude， a French banker and his escapades with Paul， an author。 I feel that the book is more a series of vignettes though， making slightly different points on some of the subjects I mentioned above。There's a whole array of characters that Murray creates and for me the jury is really out on whether they are meant to be Brechtian stereotypes representing ideals/concepts or 3D characters that we are meant to connect and empathise with。 All of the characters have aspects of good and bad within them and ultimately I think Murray is trying to show we all exist in a moral gray area and even when trying to do good， we often do bad （and vice versa）。The only part of the book I found to be a bit grating was the love interest aspect with Ariadne。 I didn't feel it really created the catalyst for change in Claude I suspect it was meant to， and I felt A was very two dimensional。 However，maybe this was another clever plot device by Murray to show Claude's slightly detached view of people and I was looking for realism where it wasn't meant to exist。 Overall I really enjoyed it and looking forward to reading what others thought。 。。。more

Paul Thomas ，

tI did it！ I put down a below average book before I wasted my time finishing it！ I had practiced all of the mitigation techniques to prevent reading bad novels: I had read a previous novel by Paul Murray （Skippy Dies） which was fantastic。 I read the preview。 I read 254 pages！Over half way through， I just tired of the cheap ignorant shots at bankers， capitalists， all the easy targets。 But mostly， I tired of the undeveloped story。 Why is this book over 400 pages？ There was a 25 page chapter’s wort tI did it！ I put down a below average book before I wasted my time finishing it！ I had practiced all of the mitigation techniques to prevent reading bad novels: I had read a previous novel by Paul Murray （Skippy Dies） which was fantastic。 I read the preview。 I read 254 pages！Over half way through， I just tired of the cheap ignorant shots at bankers， capitalists， all the easy targets。 But mostly， I tired of the undeveloped story。 Why is this book over 400 pages？ There was a 25 page chapter’s worth of story in the part I read。 Many reviews suggest that it gets better， the ending is good。 It’s worth it。 That’s like saying “Don’t mind the cold liver and onions。 This restaurant has great desserts！”。 Deathly boring and flat。I went back and finished this book only to add a book for my Reading Challenge。 Not a good reason。 The ending wasn’t much better than the rest of the book。 。。。more

Nia Nymue ，

I don't know that I can describe this book。 Apart from the basic premise that's the official description of the book， I would also add that I like how complete all the characters are。 Everyone has their own philosophy and inner life， evident through their words and actions， even if not everyone is given air time to share their thoughts。 That's incredible。I like how funny and clever the book is in relentlessly self-referencing and making incisive comments about what it means to be a person living I don't know that I can describe this book。 Apart from the basic premise that's the official description of the book， I would also add that I like how complete all the characters are。 Everyone has their own philosophy and inner life， evident through their words and actions， even if not everyone is given air time to share their thoughts。 That's incredible。I like how funny and clever the book is in relentlessly self-referencing and making incisive comments about what it means to be a person living in this day and age。 。。。more

Paige Newman ，

This is a great satire and ultimately kind of heartbreaking book set in a fictional post 2008 crash era banking world of Ireland。 At first I thought the main character was going to be too stupid to follow （even for satire）， but then you slowly slip behind his gaze， especially as more is revealed about the characters around him。 A brutal look at the stupidity of banking。

Joel ，

The message behind the story fits my values but it was not written very well and was extremely predictable。 Probably not worth the read。

Virgowriter （Brad Windhauser） ，

Fun book about a banker and an author。 Amusing commentary about both professions。 Set in Dublin。

Vera Snykers ，

It is entertaining， the characters are interesting， the setting， the details on banking is strange and unfamiliar。 Overall I finished it quite quick。。 I would not read it again， as， I would certainly Skippy dies again。

Wayne Slaughter ，

Not a book that was interesting to me。。。 Ditched it half way through。

Aaron Ambrose ，

I adored Murray’s first book， and I liked his second book a lot。 This one suffers a bit from satire stiffness， but I enjoyed most of it。 The first section feels unnecessarily protracted， but after that the pace picks up and things become more character driven and playful。 Not great， but quite good。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Mark and the Void

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Mark and the Void&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Mark and the Void&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0