#caleb crain

Jacob Putnam, aspirante scrittore fresco di laurea a Harvard, arriva a Praga per cogliere lo spirito della Rivoluzione di Velluto, che un anno prima ha segnato la fine del regime comunista. Il giovane entra a far parte di un gruppo di expat e si lancia alla scoperta di una città inquieta ed elettrizzante che si allena alla democrazia e dove tutto sembra ancora possibile, finendo per scoprire che…

By Caleb Crain October 6, 2011

Probably no writer ever finishes a book without wishing he could keep it to himself. For one thing, a book is company, during the writing of it; it’s hard to accept its departure. For another, a book is never free of flaws, its author being human. 

Overthrow by Caleb Crain

A novel about the fate of candor, good will, and the utopian spirit in a world where technology and surveillance are weaponizing human relationships

One autumn night, as a grad student named Matthew is walking home from the subway, a handsome skateboarder catches his eye. Leif, a poet as well as a skater, invites Matthew to take part in an experiment with tarot cards. It’s easier to know what’s in other people’s minds than most people realize, Leif and his friends claim. Do they believe in telepathy? Can they actually do it? Instead of writing his dissertation, Matthew soon finds himself falling for Leif and entangled with his friends, who are as idealistic as the Occupy encampment they like to visit.

Overthrow is legitimately great psychological fiction. Crain excels at describing, with precision and economy, intimacy’s dance of knowledge, ignorance, and pretense.