The paper men

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This powerful, original, and, above all, unpredictable novel pits Wilfred Barclay, a famous but failing British novelist, against Rick L. Tucker, an obscure American academic whose escape from scholarly oblivion hinges on becoming the Barclay Man: biographer, editor of the posthumous papers and the recognized authority. Barclay's slide into destructive drinking, marital failure, and middle-aged lust is alternately pandered to and documented by the indefatigable Tucker. Locked in a lethal relationship of mutual dependence, the two men totter on the brink of physical, emotional, and spiritual chasms, their hatred of each other and themselves growing as they lose their wives, their self-respect, and their illusions. Golding's deceptively comic touch heightens the stunning impact of a climax that is as inevitable as it is unexpected.