Poor George: A Novel

"The best first novel I've read in quite a long time...A merciless uncovering of the exurban wastelands of the spirit." —New York Review of Books Poor George gives us George Mecklin, a restless, soft-spoken teacher at a private school in Manhattan. Depressed by his life of vague moral purpose, George discovers a local adolescent named Ernest breaking into his house. Rather than hand the boy over to the police, as his nagging wife insists, George instead decides to tutor him. His life consequently implodes. Filled with vividly acid portrayals of American life in the 1960s, prescient explorations of suburban anomie, and a riotously disturbing cast of supporting characters, Poor George is a classic American novel—further reminder of Paula Fox's astonishing literary gifts. With an introduction by Jonathan Lethem. "Poor George gives us George Mecklin, a restless, soft-spoken teacher at a private school in Manhattan. Depressed by his life of vague moral purpose, George discovers a local adolescent named Ernest breaking into his house. Rather than hand the boy over to the police, as his nagging wife insists, George decides to tutor him. His life consequently implodes. Filled with vivid, acid portrayals of American life in the 1960s, and a riotously disturbing cast of supporting characters, Poor George is a classic American novel - a further reminder of Paula Fox's astonishing literary gifts."--BOOK JACKET Gives Us George Mecklin, A Restless, Soft-spoken Teacher At A Private School In Manhattan. Depressed By His Life Of Vague Moral Purpose, George Discovers A Local Adolescent Named Ernest Breaking Into His House. Rather Than Hand The Boy Over To The Police, As His Nagging Wife Insists, George Decides To Tutor Him. His Life Consequently Implodes.--p. [4] Of Cover. Paula Fox ; Introduction By Jonathan Lethem. "Gives us George Mecklin, a restless, soft-spoken teacher at a private school in Manhattan. Depressed by his life of vague moral purpose, George discovers a local adolescent named Ernest breaking into his house. Rather than hand the boy over to the police, as his nagging wife insists, George decides to tutor him. His life consequently implodes."--Page 4 of cover In a new edition of the first novel by the author of Desperate Characters, first published in 1967, teacher George Mecklin finds his life turned upside down when he becomes involved with tutoring Ernest, a teenage delinquent. Reprint.