Eating Crow : a Novel

Marc Basset has a reputations as s pitiless restaurant critic. When he writes a devastating review of a celebrated restaurant, the chef commits suicide, roasting himself in his own fan-assisted oven, with Basset's review pasted to the door. Suddenly Basset is moved to do something he has never done before: apologize. Startled by the widow's forgiveness and absolution, he feels unexpectedly euphoric. He decides to gorge himself on contrition by apologizing to every person he has ever wronged in his entire life. After a series of virtuoso expressions of regret, word of Basset's mollifying power spreads, and he is invited to become Chief Apologist for the United Nations. His job is to travel the globe in his own Gulfstream V private jet, apologizing for everything from colonialism through exploitation to slavery. It is a role that brings him fame, wealth and access to a lot of very good chocolate. But in a world overdosing on emotion, does Marc Basset really have the stomach to be the sorriest man in history?