155 pp. A kind of mythology has accumulated around the person and work of Gordon Lish. One of the most respected figures in contemporary American literature, he is also one of its most controversial. This novel will neither soothe critics or disapoint readers. The body of his work together with his activities as a teacher, found and editor of "The Quarterly," editor at Knopf, and fiction editor at Esquire have placed him at the forefront of the American literary scene. Told through a series of letters written to various church volunteers, an account of a man reflecting on a particularly draining period of his life takes place after the death of his wife of several decades and presents an unflinching portrait of grief and its impact.
