LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

When is it wise to be a fool for something? From New York to India to Paris, from the CatholicWorker movement to Occupy Wall Street, the characters in Joan Silber’s dazzling connectedstories tackle this question head-on.

Vera, the shy, anarchist daughter of missionary parents, leaves her family for love andactivism in New York. A generation later, her doubting daughter insists on the truth of being oftwo minds, even in marriage. The adulterous son of a Florida hotel owner steals money fromhis family and departs for Paris, where he finds himself outsmarted in turn. Fools ponders thecircle of winners and losers, dupers and duped, and the price we pay for our beliefs, offeringreaders an unforgettable look at work, faith, love and the eternal quest for personal integrity.