Exquisite Corpse Novel

"Exquisite Corpse," described by The New York Times as "off-beat, brisk and darkly comic," is a historical novel that delves into an artist's romantic obsession with his muse in a consistently clever and inventive way. Set in London, Paris, and Munich during the 1940s and 1950s, this novel, reminiscent of Robert Irwin's cult classic "The Arabian Nightmare," explores the strange and ever-morphing powers of the imagination.

The story follows Casper, a mediocre surrealist painter in London, who becomes enamored with a seemingly ordinary woman who appears exotic to him. When she suddenly disappears, Casper embarks on an obsessive quest to find her, which proves to be more absurd than any artwork he could create.

Critics have praised Irwin for his devilishly clever plot, eccentric cast of characters, and unreliable narrator, all enveloped in a prose style that is both intelligent and crisp. Described as intelligent and fraught with narcissistic musings, offbeat philosophies, Freudian analysis, hypnotism, and even an orgy, "Exquisite Corpse" maintains interest through its central mystery and the blending of fact and fiction.

The novel has been hailed as a picaresque nightmare, a sinister shell game, and an addled odyssey along the graying edges of the psyche by The San Francisco Chronicle. A. S. Byatt from The Sunday Times commended Irwin's work, calling it funny, profound, and immensely satisfying, particularly in its exploration of English surrealism.

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