Named for its sometimes cruel analysis of Duffield and the major figures in his life, the book explores universal themes like the suffering of the artist, the need for truth and the meaning of existence.

The precocious Hurtle gains artistic inspiration from the world that surrounds him, his adoptive mother, Maman, and Rhoda; the prostitute Nance, who is his first real love; the wealthy heiress Olivia Davenport; his Greek mistress Hero Pavloussi and finally the child prodigy Kathy Volkov.

However, he is unimpressed by the monetary and status gain this brings and continues to live a spartan life, beholden to nobody — even the Prime Minister.

In his final years he is drawn closer to his sister Rhoda, and after a stroke causes partial paralysis, is assisted by his protégé Don Lethbridge to produce a huge, final magnum opus to God — the Vivisector.

However, the committee was reportedly offended by one of the central themes of the novel, which posed the question as to whether it was possible to be a human being and an artist at the same time, and decided not to award the prize to White that year.