Inside Man

When Spains dictator stops the music

Here is George Foxs finest fiction. In Without Music, the tense and hilarious novel that opens this collection, Merle Kraft returns to Majorca on a desperate mission. To save his childs life, he must shadow a beautiful psychopath. Besides, Merle has to cope with smugglers, a tweedy British nymphomaniac, a Mafia wire-tapper turned preacher, a bizarre band of war veterans, and an ex-wife who wont go away.

I love the book. Fox is a brilliant, witty writer who has mastered his craft superbly. Without Music is as haunting a story as it is a solidly satisfying piece of entertainment. ---Mario PuzoA strange, rueful, wise, most unusual novel by an author who owns a rich fund of surprises. ---Bruce Jay FriedmanIn addition to Without Music, this book restores to print two darkly comic stories first published in Esquire and Paris Review. In an afterword, X. J. Kennedy remembers George Fox and offers a critical appreciation.