Reservations Recommended

by Eric Kraft

Overview

Peter Leroy constructs a plausible adult life for his grade school chum Matthew Barber, now living in Boston, where he is vice-president of a toy company by day, but becomes Bertram W. Beath, restaurant reviewer, when the sun goes down.

Reservations Recommended is a satire of the critical mind; a dark commentary on contemporary culture; a story of midlife crisis; a morality play; and a book that matches bleakness against humor, seasoned throughout with B. W. Beath's hilariously acid reviews. We watch as Matthew Barber descends from a self-protective superiority into a species of madness, and into the dark night of the soul.

"A brilliant satire."
LA Life

"Scary."
Kirkus Reviews

"Shrewd, adroit, and spirited."
Donna Seaman, Booklist

"A moving urban fable."
Roger Harris, Newark Star Ledger

"A merciless sendup of contemporary American pretensions.'
Janice Harayda, Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Wonderfully readable . . . touching and intelligent."
Richard Gehr, The Village Voice

"Hilariously on the mark, . . . witty enough to steal."
Robert Nadeau, The Boston Phoenix

"A psychosexual 'tour de farce.'"
Forrest Rogers, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

"Classy and funny."
Edna Stumpf, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

"I recommend this novel without reservations."
Los Angeles Times

"Humorous, pathetic, incisive, and, well, accurate."
John Sigwald, Plainview Daily Herald (Texas)

"Divertida, trascendente y hermosa."
Robert Saladrigas, La Vanguardia (Barcelona)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940162074625
Publisher:	The Babbington Press
Publication date:	05/24/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Eric Kraft grew up in Babylon, New York, on the South Shore of Long Island, where he was for a time co-owner and co-captain of a clam boat, which sank. He met or invented the character Peter Leroy while dozing over a German lesson during his first year at Harvard. The following year, he married his muse, Madeline Canning; they have two sons. After earning a Master’s Degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Kraft taught school in the Boston area for a while, moonlighting as a rock music critic for the Boston Phoenix. Since then, he has spent a part of every working day writing the voluminous work of fiction that he calls The Personal History, Adventures, Experiences & Observations of Peter Leroy. He has been the recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts; was, briefly, chairman of PEN New England; and has been awarded the John Dos Passos Prize for Literature.

Editorial Reviews

"Shrewd, adroit, and spirited."

Booklist - Donna Seaman

"A moving urban fable."

Newark Star Ledger - Roger Harris

"A merciless sendup of contemporary American pretensions.'

Cleveland Plain Dealer - Janice Harayda

"Wonderfully readable . . . touching and intelligent."

The Village Voice - Richard Gehr

"Hilariously on the mark, . . . witty enough to steal."

The Boston Phoenix - Robert Nadeau