Kalich deftly illuminates the drift of mind of a regretful millionaire reflecting back, a man who marched in the Civil Rights efforts of the 1960s but who recognizes little has changed … and whose family is disappointed by his relationship with a president whose policies he hates. (He’d rather spend his time thinking about baseball and reading Clarice Lispector than talking to Duck.) As before, Kalich’s storytelling is sharp-elbowed but thoughtful, committed to exposing persuasive real-life details and ethical quandaries. The air is more rarified than in the grubby world of The Handicapper—but still rank. As Covid deaths accumulate, the president wants Lazar’s help in connecting with a Global Health startup that stands as one of Lazar’s great investments. But Duck’s not looking for international cooperation on Covid treatment; instead, it’s all business opportunities.

That business will profit Lazar of course, though he’s increasingly disgusted by it. He knew Duck when he “was receiving a million-dollar-a-year allowance from his racist father” and proving to be a “liar and cheat” in real estate— and as he becomes the president’s sounding board, in scenes that read like real-life eavesdropping on the nation’s most powerful men, Lazar find Duck’s worst qualities have not abated. The tension rises from whether Lazar will—or even can—try to change things. The ending is a surprising jolt, hopeful and cutting at once, compelling literary comedy laced with truth and outrage.

Takeaway: This surprising novel finds a sports handicapper, 40 years later, as the confidante of the pandemic-era president.

Great for fans of: Curtis Sittenfeld, Carl Hiaasen’s Squeeze Me.

Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-