Last Resort

'If Less by Andrew Sean Greer left a hole in your life, good news: Last Resort will fill it. Fast and funny, it feels like a backstage pass to the book world' Meg Mason, author of Sorrow and Bliss 'A brilliant take on what it means to be an artist in a world of endless compromises. Look out, Faust, there's a new sheriff in town' Gary Shteyngart, author of Absurdistan and Lake Success 'If there's nothing new under the sun, can anyone be original without lying? Would truth still be stranger than fiction if people were honest in real life? This fast-paced simulacrum of a commercial novel is not out to please the critics. I finished it in a day' Nell Zink, author of Doxology 'Last Resort is a strange and beguiling book about the contrivances, connivances and mysteries of creation, with an especially visceral depiction of male anxiety and an absolutely blistering end. A terrific debut' Joshua Ferris, author of Then We Came to the End 'With its seductive, chilled intelligence and frictionless style, Last Resort plunged me summarily into a one-sitting read. I came up for air awed by this sophisticated, high-stakes moral drama. Hermione Hoby, author of Neon in Daylight 'A propulsive tale of American literary ambition... A keenly observed and sharp-witted debut that's assured from first page to last' Tom Rachman, author of The Imperfectionists When a bestseller-to-be cuts too close to reality, its author must make a Faustian bargain - both on the page and in real life Caleb Horowitz is twenty-seven, and his wildest dreams are about to come true. His manuscript has caught the attention of the literary agent, who offers him fame, fortune and a taste of the literary life. He can't wait for his book to be shopped around to every editor in New York, except one: Avi Dietsch, a college rival and the novel's 'inspiration.' When Avi gets his hands on the manuscript, he sees nothing but theft - and opportunity. And so Caleb is forced to make a Faustian bargain, one that tests his theories of success, ambition and the limits of art. A blazing debut novel blurring the lines of fact and fiction: a thrilling story of fame, fortune, and impossible choices.