{"product_id":"contrapposto","title":"Contrapposto","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDAVE EGGERS is the author of \n\u003ci\u003eThe Circle, The Monk of Mokha\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eA Hologram for the King\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eWhat Is the What\u003c\/i\u003e, and \n\u003ci\u003eThe Museum of Rain, \u003c\/i\u003eamong other books. He is the cofounder of 826 National, a network of youth writing centers, and Art + Water, a nonprofit visual art hub on San Francisco's waterfront. A classically trained artist and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Eggers has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and is the recipient of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and the American Book Award. In 2024, \n\u003ci\u003eThe Eyes and the Impossible \u003c\/i\u003ewas awarded the Newbery Medal. \n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003edaveeggers.net\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"In this satisfyingly old-school novel, an artist tries to find his place, and hold onto his spark, in a world that values fads and flash. . . . \n\u003ci\u003eContrapposto\u003c\/i\u003e is an earthy, warm return to form . . . . To call the book 'moving' would be a smelly cliché, so let's say undulating, with both despair and hope.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Alexandra Jacobs, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Eggers has written a big-hearted, deeply moving story about the choices artists make, or don't make, to square up their own notions of success and happiness. . . . As \n\u003ci\u003eContrapposto \u003c\/i\u003earrives at its beautiful, life-affirming conclusion, we are left pondering the significance of artistic endeavor in a world that commodifies everything, including our bodies and brains. At a time when even the greatest achievements are debased in a culture that gives equal weight to meretricious novelty, is it even worth the trouble? Eggers' brilliant novel has the answer: Follow your bliss. In the final analysis, it is all that matters.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e--Los Angeles Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\" \n\u003ci\u003eContrapposto\u003c\/i\u003e is a rare thing, a smart book about the joy of being creative and open to everything.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e--Chicago Tribune \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"A moving, humane and witty portrait of the lifelong friendship.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e--San Francisco Chronicle\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\"I savored this book, dipping into the world of these characters over the last couple of weeks, and when I finished it yesterday, I found my eyes filled with tears. I love a novel that reminds us how long life is and how powerful the persistence of being can be. Though all our biological parts might be replaced, the self remains--and is not diminished, but enlarged.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Alexis Madrigal, KQED's \"The Forum\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\"Glorious and captivating, with Eggers' signature humor and precision, \n\u003ci\u003eContrapposto\u003c\/i\u003e tells a big and big-hearted story that counter-positions exquisitely the pain and exhilarations of love and the creative impulse. I loved this novel.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Lily King, author of \u003ci\u003eHeart the Lover \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"This is a portrait of an artist as a young man, but then on through life, to the end, told by one of our finest artists. With \n\u003ci\u003eContrapposto\u003c\/i\u003e, Dave Eggers gives us, generously and precisely, clear and bright, a story about why we create, and how we love.\" \n\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e--Tommy Orange, author of\u003ci\u003e Wandering Stars\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"This book speaks to my heart. With wit, wisdom, and deep empathy, \n\u003ci\u003eContrapposto\u003c\/i\u003e asks all the hard questions that haunt and enliven a creative life--about art and beauty, about commerce and class, about the cost of passion and the price of success.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Ruth Ozeki, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Book of Form and Emptiness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A book of profundity, humanity, and ravishing beauty--the only kind of book I want to read \n\u003ci\u003e.\u003c\/i\u003e\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of \u003ci\u003eLess \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Dave Eggers' new novel, \n\u003ci\u003eContrapposto\u003c\/i\u003e, begins with a simple question: What is art? The answer turns out to be a stunning high-wire act and, boy, does Eggers stick the landing. Better yet, the book is a love story that just won't quit.\" \n\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e--Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of\u003ci\u003e Empire Falls \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\" \n\u003ci\u003eContrapposto \u003c\/i\u003eis extraordinary, a lucid and passionate \n\u003ci\u003ekünstlerroman \u003c\/i\u003eand a drawing of the negative space around the contemporary art world. Cricket, given great talent and passion, is also a quiet rebel: His inability to agree to any of the small compromises necessary to become a big name is what keeps his art a pure, good, white-hot thing.\" \n\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e--Lauren Groff, author of\u003ci\u003e Brawler\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\" \n\u003ci\u003eContrapposto\u003c\/i\u003e answers the question, 'Why are novels irreplaceable?' From page one, I fell in love with its perfectly flawed characters, its big beating heart, its brain and its language. What a sublime act of fiction.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--David Mitchell, author of \u003ci\u003eCloud Atlas\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Eggers has been a reliably inventive, big-swing storyteller with a knack for mixing heart, humor, and a little cultural side-eye. . . . What begins as a grade-school act of vandalism becomes a 65-year entanglement of friendship, collaboration, and longing.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eOprah Daily\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"The inimitable Dave Eggers returns with a book about life, love and art, featuring the classically trained artist's own work. . . . So begins 50 years of dancing around the art world and each other as they search for love, meaning, loyalty and more.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003ePeople \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"In this marvelous and astutely constructed story about love, companionship, and the search (within ourselves and elsewhere) for great beauty, Eggers has crafted an unforgettable tale of two singular characters who, for better or worse, belong together, and invites us come along on the astonishing, heartbreaking, and incredibly worthwhile journey for them to figure out how.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e--Town \u0026amp; Country\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNATIONAL BESTSELLER - \u003c\/i\u003eA sweeping novel about friendship, love, and the lifelong pursuit of art from Dave Eggers, the award-winning, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Circle\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eA Hologram for the King\u003c\/i\u003e, and\u003ci\u003e The Eyes \u0026amp; the Impossible\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\"Glorious and captivating, with Eggers' signature humor and precision, \u003ci\u003eContrapposto\u003c\/i\u003e tells a big and big-hearted story that counter-positions exquisitely the pain and exhilarations of love and the creative impulse. I loved this novel.\" --Lily King, author of \u003ci\u003eHeart the Lover\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\"In this satisfyingly old-school novel, an artist tries to find his place, and hold onto his spark, in a world that values fads and flash. . . . \u003ci\u003eContrapposto\u003c\/i\u003e is an earthy, warm return to form . . . . To call the book 'moving' would be a smelly cliché, so let's say undulating, with both despair and hope.\" --Alexandra Jacobs, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCricket Dib, born on the American prairie, has no particular prospects or ambitions until, in grade school, he realizes he can draw. He soon meets a girl, Olympia Argyros, one year older, who is captivating and brilliant and far more worldly. Recognizing his talent, she convinces him to deface, with profound vulgarity, a popular playground. Under her direction, he does it willingly, already in love, and thus begins a sixty-five-year entwining between Cricket and Olympia, encompassing friendship, working partnership and love affair. Together they go to art school--an experience of dubious value--and then navigate the art world for the next fifty years, together and apart. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eContrapposto\u003c\/i\u003e is a moving and very funny novel about allies and art, and what it means to be an artist. All through their lives, Cricket sees Olympia as his soulmate and destiny, and while she is always his champion, romantically her eyes are always seeking something--and someone--else. Their love changes over the decades, but their commitment to each other, and their search for meaning in the making of art, never wanes. The novel spans the globe, from New York to Thailand, Indiana to Paris, and follows Cricket and Olympia through sickness and health, war and death. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe novel is a wild and beautiful examination of the rules and market forces of the art world, but chiefly it's about two friends who believe they can change that world, and bring new meaning to it, if only they can start their own movement, dodge charlatans, remain open-eyed and open-hearted, avoid going mad, avoid dying young of rare cancers, stay true to their ideals, and never tire of beauty. Not easy, but not impossible, either.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eBooklist\u003c\/span\u003e 04\/01\/2026 (EAN 9780593803509, Hardcover) - *Starred Review\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 04\/20\/2026 (EAN 9780593803509, Hardcover) - *Starred Review\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/span\u003e 03\/01\/2026 pg. 98 (EAN 9780593803509, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/span\u003e 03\/15\/2026 (EAN 9780593803509, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Knopf Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496288616726,"sku":"9780593803509","price":38.4,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9780593803509.jpg?v=1783059080","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/contrapposto","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}