Mouth to Mouth by Antoine Wilson

In a first-class lounge at JFK airport, our narrator listens as Jeff Cook, a former classmate he only vaguely remembers, shares the uncanny story of his adult life—a life that changed course years before, the moment he resuscitated a drowning man.

Jeff reveals that after that traumatic, galvanizing morning on the beach, he was compelled to learn more about the man whose life he had saved, convinced that their fates were now entwined. But are we agents of our fate—or are we its pawns? Upon discovering that the man is renowned art dealer Francis Arsenault, Jeff begins to surreptitiously visit his Beverly Hills gallery. Although Francis does not seem to recognize him as the man who saved his life, he nevertheless casts his legendary eye on Jeff and sees something worthy. He takes the younger man under his wing, initiating him into his world, where knowledge, taste, and access are currency; a world where value is constantly shifting and calling into question what is real, and what matters. The paths of the two men come together and diverge in dizzying ways until the novel’s staggering ending.

Fantastic! I'd give it six out of five stars, if I could.

Mouth to Mouth is structured as a story within a story. Two former college classmates, never particularly close, encounter each other in JFK airport, waiting out a delayed flight, and Jeff Cook, the more charismatic and successful of the two and a renowned art dealer, proceeds to tell the story of his relationship with Francis Arsenault, a man whose life he saved 20 years before in a drowning accident. According to him, he's never shared the details with anyone before and we're sucked into listening as he slowly describes first stalking, then being hired by Francis as a low-level employee and eventually becoming both his protégé and his daughter's lover. As near as he can tell, Francis doesn't recognize him as the person who gave him CPR but regardless, he sees something in the young man and grooms him as one might a longed-for son. But who is playing with who in this enigmatic friendship?
We're never quite sure where Jeff's story is taking us —why does he choose to share this now and is his version the truth or only the spin he's putting on it? Regardless, I was mesmerized by the convoluted in-and-outs of how the lives of these two men, Jeff and Francis, become entwined, leading to a final page I could not have foreseen. I found myself pondering many open-ended questions after I finished this book. Questions of fateful encounters. Questions of free will and toxic masculinity and men who get off on controlling and manipulating women. Questions of how we tell stories about our lives and what makes a reliable narrator. Highly recommended for readers who don't mind being challenged by a story that doesn't wrap up with a neat bow at the end.

My thanks to NetGalley for access to an advanced reader copy. Mouth to Mouth releases January 2022