A Calling for Charlie Barnes: A Novel

"Joshua Ferris’ comic novel follows a suburban Chicago investment adviser who believes he’s dying of pancreatic cancer, only to find out that his internet-fueled self-diagnosis was wrong. He tries to make amends with his estranged children, with mixed results. Then things go off the rails with a series of narrative shifts that lead the reader to question whether anything that came before was actually true. The novel wears its metafictional heart on its sleeve, but as smart as it is, Ferris isn’t in love with his own cleverness – the result is a brilliant novel that’s full of heart."