Barnaby Griswold has never been much of an athlete, or even very sportsmanlike; he tends to cheat when the match is on the line. He's not much of a fighter either, more likely to throw a rock than an honest punch. His father had hoped Barnaby might lead a life of dim propriety. But instead Barnaby has grown into his father's horror: a great melon of impropriety, a fluffmeister, an investments player with unbelievably priceless instincts for the next deal. Then he loses everything. Not just his wife and daughters. Not just his livelihood and connections and lunches at La Cote. Barnaby, without a nickel, is banished even from his boyhood summer home, the very last roof over his head. Now, divorced, deserted, flat broke, Barnaby has to find a way to repair his life. Can a fool—a clumsy, self-absorbed, insensitive, money-driven fool—become a hero, the kind of hero that makes us stand up and cheer? In a word, yes. This is a funny, irresistible, resonant novel that, in Andre Dubus' words, "brims with love." From the inside flap