{"product_id":"the-mark-and-the-void","title":"The Mark and the Void","description":"\u003cb\u003eWINNER OF THE EVERYMAN WODEHOUSE PRIZE 2016\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA comic masterpiece about love, art, greed and the banking crisis, from the author of \u003ci\u003eSkippy Dies\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eWhat links the Investment Bank of Torabundo, www.myhotswaitress.com (yes, \u003ci\u003ehots \u003c\/i\u003ewith 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 . . . \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Mark and the Void\u003c\/i\u003e is Paul Murray's madcap new novel of institutional folly, following the success of his wildly original breakout hit, \u003ci\u003eSkippy Dies\u003c\/i\u003e. 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Mark and the Void\u003c\/i\u003e 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.","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53169103241584,"sku":"9780241953860","price":18.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0985\/0463\/8832\/files\/3252143482274.jpg?v=1768380759","url":"https:\/\/papervalebooks.com\/products\/the-mark-and-the-void","provider":"Papervale Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}