Title:: [[Remainder]] Authors:: [[Tom McCarthy]] Tags:: #fiction Read:: [[2025-05-18]] Instagram :: https://www.instagram.com/p/DJ2lSCquNU7/ ## Editions - Edition:: [[Vintage Books]], 2007 - Original Copyright:: 2005 - Pages:: 308 ## Purchase * Bookshop.org:: https://bookshop.org/a/94437/9780307278357 ## Annotations Look, there is just no way you could convince me that Nathan Fielder has not read McCarthy’s Remainder. The Rehearsal ([@therehearsalhbo](https://www.instagram.com/therehearsalhbo/)) bears such uncanny resemblance to the novel it’s almost distracting (in validating my sanity, I found others sharing similar opinions). Imitation (or re-enactment) is the sincerest form of flattery, and true to Wilde’s intent, and notwithstanding the brilliance of Fielder’s show, Remainder stands superior.  It does so by providing the depth in character and context only a novel can provide. I found the unnamed narrator’s obsessive drive to rebuild and re-enact memories and moments through authoritarian control of details and people to be darkly sad, particularly in how out of his control it felt. There is a mystery throughout the novel that hangs over the narrator’s behavior, too, further adding to the hold the book had on me.  Remainder is excellent. I’m grateful it was put on my radar.