The Making of Incarnation

The Making of Incarnation is a 2021 novel by English writer Tom [McCarthy (novelist)|Tom McCarthy].

Conception and writing

The novel involves a search for a fictional missing item—Box 808—from the archive of Lillian Gilbreth. Gilbreth was a real-world figure known for her work on time and [motion studies], applying that work to accelerate the rate at which industrial workers could accomplish tasks. In an essay for the London Review of Books, McCarthy referred to Gilbreth as a "fascinating figure". McCarthy has said he is "most " by " the role literature played in her thinking."

Reception

In a review published by the Wall Street Journal, Sam Sacks compared the work unfavorably to those of postmodern American novelist Don DeLillo, writing that The Making of Incarnation " lacks Mr. DeLillo’s humor, his pleasure in absurdity". In his review, Sacks noted the superficial characterization of the book's protagonists, referring to them as " nothing more than proper names". In a review for The [New York Times], Giles Harvey referred to the characters similarly, writing: "They are manic ciphers, fixated on their intellectual quarry but devoid of inner life".
In a review for Booklist, Bill Kelly praised the novel's "Pynchonian asides filtered through a Joycean love of language."