Will Barrett is a 25-year-old wanderer from the South living in New York City, detached from his roots and with no plans for the future, until the purchase of a telescope sets off a romance and changes his life forever. Walker Percywrote several highly acclaimed books of fiction and nonfiction, including the bestsellersThe MoviegoerandThe Thanatos Syndrome. He was awarded numerous prizes in his lifetime, including the National Book Award, and is considered one of the greatest American writers of his generation. He lived in Covington, Louisiana, until his death in 1990. Will Barrett is a 25-year-old wanderer from the South living in New York City, detached from his roots and with no plans for the future, until the purchase of a telescope sets off a romance and changes his life forever. "Splendid . A beautifully textured novel [and] a distinguished work of art . Percy's perception luminously lights up obscure depths of experience without at the same time explaining that experience away.

"The New York Times Book Review "Lovely and brilliant . A highly whimsical kind of picaresque tale that puts one in mind of both Faulkner and Canneau."Joyce Carol Oates,The Nation "Breaks your heart in the midst of laughter."Philadelphia Inquirer "Brilliant . It shimmers with the chaste and civilized ornaments of irony, understatement, and compassion."Time.