The Floating World

Books

A cautionary tale of a young, newly widowed art critic who goes to work for a mysterious billionaire determined to build a geodesic-domed paradise to shelter the rich. For fans of novels of Vincenzo Latronico's Perfection and Blake Butler's Molly On a remote island in the Aegean, Morel, a billionaire, is constructing a utopian community beneath a giant geodesic dome. The "Floating World" is advertised as a refuge for only the wealthiest people from the crises engulfing the planet. Our protagonist is offered a job working on the spectacular art exhibition that will inaugurate this closed society. Recognizing that this is a branding exercise for ethically dubious property development, he is nonetheless attracted by the opportunity to work with an artist he once hero-worshipped-the reclusive, semi-retired Finn Reith-and to restart a life that stopped with the loss of his wife. At first glance, the Floating World seems like a paradise, but it soon becomes clear that all is not well beneath the shimmering ...