Contrapposto
A Novel
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Contrapposto
Pre-order Now for £20.09
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Narrated by:
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By:
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Dave Eggers
About this listen
Cricket Dib, born on the American prairie, has no particular prospects or ambitions until, in grade school, he realizes he can draw. He soon meets a girl, Olympia Argyros, one year older, who is captivating and brilliant and far more worldly. Recognizing his talent, she convinces him to deface, with profound vulgarity, a popular playground. Under her direction, he does it willingly, already in love, and thus begins a sixty-five-year entwining between Cricket and Olympia, encompassing friendship, working partnership and love affair. Together they go to art school—an experience of dubious value—and then navigate the art world for the next fifty years, together and apart.
Contrapposto is a moving and very funny novel about allies and art, and what it means to be an artist. All through their lives, Cricket sees Olympia as his soulmate and destiny, and while she is always his champion, romantically her eyes are always seeking something—and someone—else. Their love changes over the decades, but their commitment to each other, and their search for meaning in the making of art, never wanes. The novel spans the globe, from New York to Thailand, Indiana to Paris, and follows Cricket and Olympia through sickness and health, war and death.
The novel is a wild and beautiful examination of the rules and market forces of the art world, but chiefly it’s about two friends who believe they can change that world, and bring new meaning to it, if only they can start their own movement, dodge charlatans, remain open-eyed and open-hearted, avoid going mad, avoid dying young of rare cancers, stay true to their ideals, and never tire of beauty. Not easy, but not impossible, either.
Critic reviews
• An Oprah Daily Most Anticipated Book of 2026 • A Lit Hub Most Anticipated Book of 2026 • A People Most Anticipated Book of 2026 •
“This book speaks to my heart. With wit, wisdom, and deep empathy, Contrapposto asks all the hard questions that haunt and enliven a creative life—about art and beauty, about commerce and class, about the cost of passion and the price of success.”
—Ruth Ozeki, author of A Tale for the Time Being
“A book of profundity, humanity, and ravishing beauty—the only kind of book I want to read.”
—Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less
“I read Contrapposto and loved it! It spoke very deeply to me about love, and the artistic life, and the struggle for a sense of achievement or meaning and a purpose, and the magic of the life drawing class and those leaps in learning that application of technical skill with passion can achieve in a young artist. The idea that happiness is contentment rather than striving is very, very strong and beautiful in the book. It was heartbreaking, funny, and very effortlessly relatable.”
—Benedict Cumberbatch
“Eggers has been a reliably inventive, big-swing storyteller with a knack for mixing heart, humor, and a little cultural side-eye. . . . What begins as a grade-school act of vandalism becomes a 65-year entanglement of friendship, collaboration, and longing.”
—Oprah Daily
“The inimitable Dave Eggers returns with a book about life, love and art, featuring the classically trained artist’s own work. . . . So begins 50 years of dancing around the art world and each other as they search for love, meaning, loyalty and more.”
—People
“This book speaks to my heart. With wit, wisdom, and deep empathy, Contrapposto asks all the hard questions that haunt and enliven a creative life—about art and beauty, about commerce and class, about the cost of passion and the price of success.”
—Ruth Ozeki, author of A Tale for the Time Being
“A book of profundity, humanity, and ravishing beauty—the only kind of book I want to read.”
—Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less
“I read Contrapposto and loved it! It spoke very deeply to me about love, and the artistic life, and the struggle for a sense of achievement or meaning and a purpose, and the magic of the life drawing class and those leaps in learning that application of technical skill with passion can achieve in a young artist. The idea that happiness is contentment rather than striving is very, very strong and beautiful in the book. It was heartbreaking, funny, and very effortlessly relatable.”
—Benedict Cumberbatch
“Eggers has been a reliably inventive, big-swing storyteller with a knack for mixing heart, humor, and a little cultural side-eye. . . . What begins as a grade-school act of vandalism becomes a 65-year entanglement of friendship, collaboration, and longing.”
—Oprah Daily
“The inimitable Dave Eggers returns with a book about life, love and art, featuring the classically trained artist’s own work. . . . So begins 50 years of dancing around the art world and each other as they search for love, meaning, loyalty and more.”
—People
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