OK, Mr Field

2020 Longlist

Mr Field, a concert pianist travelling back from a performance in London, suffers a fractured wrist in a train crash. On a whim, he uses his compensation money to buy a house he has seen in a newspaper –  a replica of Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye – on the coast outside Cape Town. But when Mr Field moves there with his wife, Mim, he finds that the house has a disturbing and unexpected effect. Dwelling in the gaps within conversations, and the distances between people, OK, Mr Field is a powerful story of obsession, disintegration and loneliness.

About the Author

Katharine Kilalea grew up in South Africa and studied Creative Writing in the UK. Her debut poetry collection, One Eye’d Leigh (2009), was shortlisted for the Costa Poetry Award and longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize for writers under 30. OK, Mr Field is Katherine’s debut novel.

Librarian’s Comments

A maddening, enigmatic book, slow and quiet, the prose seemingly simple but fascinating, as is the protagonist, Mr no-first-name Mr.Field, doing nothing very much in his replica Le Corbusier house in Cape Town.  Bergen Offentlige Bibliotek- Norway