The Mark and the Void

Paris native Claude Martingale works in Dublin as an analyst for an investment bank that's headquartered on an ecologically precarious island in the Pacific. His life is devoid of social activity or romance. Even so, an author called Paul proposes to write a novel about Claude. Paul begins to shadow him at work and is eventually joined by his associate, Igor. This mysterious duo introduces Claude to the madcap, violent underworld of Dublin's burst housing bubble, the shadow economy of Ireland's sex and service workers, and literary publishing. Claude, meanwhile, remains a character in search of his story, one thread of which may lead to the beautiful Greek baker and painter Ariadne. Will Claude pull the heist of a lifetime to reach her? Readers can only root for Claude as he subversively comes into his own while sticking it to the global banking sector.