The Winter Zoo: A Novel
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About this book
A sexy hilarious novel of wayward young expatriates -- and the difference between doing good and feeling good. In 1990 a young man named Gurney abandons his newborn daughter in an Iowa delivery room and escapes into Krakow Poland where it seems as if everyone is hunting for the next new thing. Upon this seductive frontier Gurney devotes himself to a life of irresponsibility. Already ensconced in Poland is Gurneys cousin Jane a master manipulator who occupies the center of Krakows spiderweb of sexual and political intrigue. As Jane and Gurneys relationship swerves thrillingly closer to the incestuous Gurney crosses paths -- and often swords -- with Krakows gallery of rogues and innocents. Among them are Wanda Janes virginal yet rebellious roommate who harbors for Gurney a not-so-secret crush; Dick Chestnutt a sodden American expatriate; Jackie Witherspoon an ambitious young scholar of uncertain sexuality and allegiance; and Zbigniew Zamoyski Wandas father a former Communist aristocrat who decides that the fun and Gurney must be stopped. Seamlessly juxtaposing totalitarianism and freedom the political and the personal John Beckman has created a magical world. Evocative and suberbly crafted The Winter Zoo marks the debut of a young writer of enormous talent and promise.
