The Zero and the One
A Novel
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
A gothic twist on the classic tale of innocents abroad, The Zero and the One is a meditation on the seductions of friendship and the power of dangerous ideas that registers the dark, psychological suspense of Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley and the intellectual and philosophical intrigue of John Banville's The Book of Evidence.
A shy, bookish scholarship student from a working-class family, Owen Whiting has high hopes of what awaits him at Oxford, only to find himself adrift and out of place among the university's dim aristocrats and posh radicals. But his life takes a dramatic turn when he is assigned to the same philosophy tutorial as Zachary Foedern, a visiting student from New York City. Rich, brilliant, and charismatic, Zach takes Owen under his wing, introducing him to a world of experiences Owen has only ever read about.
From the quadrangles of Oxford to the seedy underbelly of Berlin, they practice what Zach preaches, daring each other to transgress the boundaries of convention and morality, until Zach proposes the greatest transgression of all: a suicide pact. But when Zach's plans go horribly awry, Owen is left to pick up the pieces in the sleek lofts and dingy dives of lower Manhattan. Now he must navigate the treacherous boundary between illusion and reality if he wants to understand his friend and preserve a hold on his once bright future.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
It isn't a spoiler to reveal that one of the protagonists of this deliciously gothic debut Zach commits suicide, nor that he has help from Owen, a bookish type he befriends during a study abroad program at Oxford. But what keeps the pages turning is the deliberately paced disclosure of how Zach's original plan for a suicide pact goes horribly awry. Or, does it? The first chapter finds Owen on his way to New York for Zach's funeral. Subsequent sections alternate between Owen's getting to know Zach's well-off family especially his fiercely magnetic and mysterious twin sister, Vera during his weeklong stay in the city and flashbacks to Zach and Owen's burgeoning bond over existential philosophy, wooing classmates Tori and Claire, and flouting snooty Oxford tradition. Both threads are skillfully plotted and equally intriguing, especially when Vera and the secrets she's hiding take center stage. The novel's trick is that none of the characters are especially in the know at any given point each has a blind spot. Though astute readers might see the ending coming, its over-the-top intensity and sheer depravity still register quite an impact. It's also a testament to Ruby's powers of persuasion that questions remain even after the circumstances surrounding Zach's death are finally unmasked. Who was really at fault? Was it and what happened afterward inevitable? An undeniably propulsive read.
