‘The Award’ by Matthew Pearl; Harper; 256 pages; $30
Satire and mystery swirl with arrogance, the creative process and unchecked ambition in Matthew Pearl’s amusing and realistic “The Award.”
Pearl turns a delightfully poisoned pen toward writers and the writing life — subjects he knows quite well — for a story that seems a bit over the top but, at the same time, realistic. “The Award” has a slow-burn plot, but it never drags.
David Trent doubts himself and his talents every day, as his insecurities stymie his attempts to finish the novel he’s been working on for years. David is approaching 30, worried about being financially dependent on his loving girlfriend, Bonnie, who believes in his talent. She seems to be only one who has faith in him. He certainly doesn’t as he struggles against a colossal writer’s block. Perhaps that’s unfair — he can write, but the words don’t go anywhere. He’s increasingly depressed because the other writers who also work at the various coffee shops he frequents seem to be doing better.
He and Bonnie almost pass on a new apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The place is roomy enough and the rent reasonable. But it’s on the third floor, reachable only by a rickety, slippery and steep outside staircase. Then, he learns that award-winning novelist and New Yorker editor Silas Hale lives on the first floor.
Suddenly, those stairs are not an obstacle as David fantasies about Silas being his mentor, his champion, praising his work to influential agents and editors, helping him get published, inspiring him to work. David’s dream disappears when Silas proves to be a nasty, arrogant, self-centered and petty person. On their first meeting, Silas calls David “nothing,” forbidding David to even talk to the Hales. Against the odds, David finishes his book, then wins a prestigious award that Silas had won decades before. But being a published author doesn’t go smoothly, as David encounters several setbacks, then there is a fatality.
Pearl, who grew up in Davie and still lives in Broward County, delivers an evocative look at the oddities of life in Cambridge, beginning with the quirky apartments in the Victorian townhouse. The stairs are too treacherous to bring up furniture, so items must be hoisted through floor openings that start in Silas’ apartment. Heat is controlled only through Silas’ thermostat. The snow seems heavier, the temperatures more extreme — all of which is chalked up to the constant refrain: “It’s Cambridge.”
Pearl smoothly incorporates his characters into the plot. Silas thrives on being mean, charging guests to attend his annual party, refusing to allow heat in David’s apartment (even when it’s freezing), and belittling everyone he sees. Silas’ personality contrasts with David’s as Pearl slyly shows how ambition and a hint of fame can change a person.
Guilt & grief
‘Friends and Liars’ by Kit Frick; Atria/Bestler; 272 pages; $18
Tragedy can bring people together, or tear them apart, with grief and guilt taking center stage, as Kit Frick explores in “Friends and Liars,” her second adult novel.
In college, Harper, Luca, Sirina, David and Clare were a close-knit group, sharing the most intimate thoughts and flaws with unconditional acceptance. While they were from different backgrounds, they treated each other as equal. However, Clare Monroe’s family wealth surpassed all of them.
Her invitation to her friends to celebrate New Year’s at her family’s luxurious palazzo — yes, they have a palazzo — in Lake Como, Italy, was met with excitement. But by the end of the day, Clare was dead. Her father, Samuel Monroe, a powerful Hollywood venture capitalist, maintained his daughter’s death was an accident and pressured the police not to investigate to prevent scandal.
Now, five years later, the surviving friends are invited to a celebration of Clare’s life at Lake Como, all expenses paid. The friends, who have not kept in touch, are reluctant at first. Each is wracked by grief and guilt, wondering if they somehow played a part in Clare’s death. But curiosity and, perhaps, a bit of atonement override their hesitation. Needless to say, the trip doesn’t go well.
Friends gathering to mourn a death they may have prevented has become a category of mysteries in recent years. Yet Frick, best known for her young adult novels, makes “Friends and Liars” fresh with her energetic storytelling. Even the one plot twist that almost strains credibility works. The group’s friendship and reconnection are believable. The Italian backdrop and the palazzo are breathtaking.
Frick proved her prowess at adult mysteries in her outstanding 2024 novel, “The Split,” in which she played with different timelines and scenarios while exploring the complicated relationship of two sisters and their contrasting versions of events. “Friends and Liars” again proves she is adept at writing for different ages.
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