First published 1975
William Atwater moves through London's fashionable social world, attending parties and gallery openings where conversation flows as freely as the drinks. The artistic crowd he runs with talks endlessly about culture and meaning, but their words ring hollow. Aristocrats pose as bohemians while bohemians chase aristocratic approval. Atwater watches it all with detached amusement until he falls for Susan Nunnery. As their relationship unfolds against this backdrop of posturing and pretense, Atwater discovers that love itself becomes corrupted by the very atmosphere that surrounds them. The same emptiness that makes cocktail party chatter meaningless begins to drain substance from his feelings for Susan. Powell strips away the glamour to reveal a world where people talk past each other, where genuine connection becomes impossible, and where even sincere emotions get twisted into performance. What begins as sharp social comedy turns darker as Atwater realizes he cannot escape the cycle of futility that defines his world.
Genres: literary-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, adult-fiction, british-literature, academic
Vibes: dark, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: social-commentary, unreliable-narrator
Setting: London
Period: 20th-century
320 pages · Hardcover · Lythway P.