Description

In a novel thats part comic mystery part political satire and part case vignette a psychiatrist reviews his involvement with a narcissistic national leader who has turned up dead on the consulting room couchWhen Peter D Kramer wrote about his work with psychiatric patients in books like Listening to Prozac and Should You Leave Joyce Carol Oates said To read his prose on virtually any subject is to be provoked enthralled illuminated When Kramer switched to fiction Publishers Weekly wrote The depth quality and ambition of Kramers prose will surprise those expecting a superficial crossover effortIn his new novel Death of the Great Man Kramer uses those literary skills to introduce readers to an unforgettable character Henry Farber a wellmeaning psychiatrist forced into hiding when the nations chief executivea narcissistic autocrat in his disastrous second termis found dead on the consulting room couch From an isolated bungalow Farber sets out to clear his name while offering an intimate view of a flawed populist leader What begins as comic mystery and political satire matures into a moving journey of selfexploration and a commentary on the fate of truthtelling in an era when lying has become a norm in public life