The Matter with Morris
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
An “immaculately written, trenchantly honest, hugely compelling” novel from the Giller Prize–winning author of Stranger (Globe and Mail).
When Morris Schutt, a prominent newspaper columnist, surveys his life over the past year, he sees disaster everywhere. His son has just been killed in Afghanistan, and his newspaper has put him on indefinite leave; his psychiatrist wife, Lucille, seems headed for the door; he is strongly attracted to Ursula, the wife of a dairy farmer from Minnesota; and his daughter appears to be having an affair with one of her professors.
What is a thinking man to do but turn to Cicero and Plato and Socrates in search of the truth? Or better still, to call one of those discreet “dating services” in search of happiness? But happiness, as Morris discovers, is not that easy to find. David Bergen’s most accomplished novel, The Matter with Morris, is an unforgettable story with a vitality, charm, and intelligence all its own. Bergen proves once again that he is a rare and exceptional writer, dazzling us with his wit and touching us with his compassion.
“The Matter With Morris is more interested in showing that simply getting on with life is one of the best ways to counter grief, a premise it supports with quiet effectiveness.”—The New York Times Book Review
“A beautiful, smart, deeply moving book.”—Miriam Toews, author of A Complicated Kindness
“Bergen writes earnestly about dignity and duty, particularly as they apply to fatherhood and women.” —Booklist
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Morris Schutt is a 51-year-old, syndicated columnist who really wants to be Jewish, an obsession that his estranged wife dismisses as a "secret wish for tenderness and affection." Since his son's death in Afghanistan, Morris's life has been quickly unraveling. Everything Morris once loved suddenly falls away his wife kicks him out of the house, his two daughters treat him like a stranger, his boss puts him on a hiatus following a disastrous column tough challenges for someone who once believed in certainty. Morris retreats from life, canceling his cell phone, email, and cable and cashing out his investments. He holds on to the edge tightly and eventually learns how far family bonds can stretch and still hold. It's a challenge to create a compelling story and populate the pages with liberal references from many esteemed writers and thinkers, from Saul Bellow to Cicero, but Bergen (The Time in Between) does it with great equanimity, humor, and sensitivity.
