After a mysterious accident in which debris falls from the sky, a man receives an 8 1/2 million pound settlement. A few days later, at a party, the man sees a crack in the wall of the bathroom which expands into the very specific memory of a place he used to live. He remembers the stairwells and banisters, the neighbours and their habits, and even the view of the roof of the building next door. Using his vast wealth, he goes about re-creating this scene, buying buildings and hiring an armada of designers, tradespeople and actors to re-create this space. What follows is a chain of increasingly complex re-creations as the man looses all sense of reality.Often an irritating read as the protagonist goes over the minutiae of his faux worlds again and again. Remainder is unique, but frustrating more than compelling. McCarthy's cyclical narrative impedes much from actually happening and the protagonist is treated more as a prop than a human being.
If you're a fan of existential no-plot narratives (see Knut Hamsun's Hunger and Kazuo Ishiguro's The Unconsoled) give it a read, otherwise, not recommended.
