Eustace Chisholm and the Works: A Novel

"[S]o good that almost any novel you read immediately after it will seem at least a little bit posturing." —Jonathan Franzen

No James Purdy novel has dazzled contemporary writers more than this haunting tale of unrequited love in an indifferent world. A seedy depression-era boarding house in Chicago plays host to "a game of emotional chairs" (The Guardian) in a novel initially condemned for its frank depiction of abortion, homosexuality, and life on the margins of American society. A cast of...