The Winner
Wayne’s plot was made to gallop, and it does not disappoint ... It’s not just the sex that’s provocative; it’s the way the reader is steadily pulled into Conor’s dilemma... to the point that some of his actions seem almost justifiable. It takes a long time narratively to root against him at all.
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[A] well-paced, smart, class-obsessed thriller ... The tone of The Winner has a creepy Highsmithian placidity, coolly measured while depicting bad things being done and cannily covering up the evidence ... A savvy take on sex, money and power ... He can write a thoughtful novel about moral ambiguity and corruption that’s also a movie-ready page turner, with enough room for a sequel.
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Wayne skillfully orchestrates the whipsaw in [Conor's] consciousness between reproachful self-knowledge and slimy self-justification ... Class is a subject seldom addressed in contemporary American fiction ... Teddy Wayne’s latest makes a welcome contribution to the neglected subject.
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