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The Architect
James Conaway, author of Memphis Afternoons, The Far Side of Eden, and Vanishing America: In Pursuit of Our Elusive Landscapes "The Architect is a thoughtful, moving novel about the realities of building, particularly when style collides with money, politics, and the demands of the less than enlightened. Also, this interesting portrait of Memphis embodies a lively treatise on architecture itself." Product Description Struggling architect Ethan Cotham may have just won a prestigious competition to design the new Center for Southern Culture on the banks of the Mississippi River-but his troubles are only beginning. Now his unconventional ideas must survive a withering attack by the conservative Memphis Board of Design Review and the schemes of his former mentor, a bitter professional rival. To make matters worse, Cotham must fend off the amorous advances of the ravishing but predatory director of the Brooks Museum of Art while trying to meet the pressing demands of his other clients. Not only do social climbers Roberta and Thurston Quonset have their heart set on a gargantuan trophy house, but the Bishop of North Mississippi has enmeshed his architect in a cynical web of church politics. As work on the Center for Southern Culture finally commences, Cotham begins to suspect that his plans are being undermined-literally-by the Colonel, an unscrupulous construction manager for a huge St. Louis contractor notorious for cutting corners. Isolated and desperate to save the project and his reputation, Cotham's only ally is the gorgeous and psychic Pallie Pelham. Written with a solid ring of authenticity, the story builds to a suspenseful and tragic climax amidst its setting in Memphis and Mississippi, a region peopled by colorful characters where the past is inevitably in conflict with the present. Reader Reviews A fascinating novel written through the eyes of a talented architect details the reality of getting well-designed buildings built in a typical mid-America, small, historic city. He contends with waffling building committees, greedy developers, over reaching civic commissions, and a construction manager cutting corners to increase his profit. Along the way he is aided by enlightened clients, friends, and a liturgical consultant as he navigates through the minefields of architectural practice. It all climaxes in a riveting unexpected event. The book is beautifully written as the author paints complex situations and the politics of architectural practice with insightful prose and rich detail. When my wife starting reading this engrossing novel she thought that there were too many duplicitous characters trying to submarine the design and construction of the protagonist's well designed, environmentally sensitive buildings. As an architect with a small practice I thought just the opposite. This wonderful novel actually gives fascinating insights into the real challenges and cast of characters that are part of the design and construction of innovative architecture. While the novel is 362 pages, I wish that it were longer. I enjoyed the book immensely. Comment | | (Report this)
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