First published 1985
William Golding's "The Paper Man" pits a reclusive author against a determined academic. Famed novelist Felix Shaw guards his privacy ferociously, hiding away in his secluded cottage. But when a young professor named Martin Ransom arrives, intent on writing Shaw's authorized biography, the two men enter into a battle of wills. As Ransom digs into Shaw's past, uncovering long-buried secrets, the novelist grows increasingly desperate to protect his carefully constructed life. The clash between these two stubborn men builds to a tense and dramatic conclusion, exploring the responsibilities of the artist and the perils of modern biography.
Genres: fiction, drama, literary-fiction, mystery, contemporary, academic
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Europe
192 pages · Paperback