In this captivating first novel, a young man's plan to revitalize his hometown leads four of its inhabitants down alternating paths of desire and deceit.
When the charismatic Jack Lambeau returns to his hometown along Lake Ontario with an eye toward revitalizing its fading post-industrial waterfront into a tasteful commercial development for tourists and yuppies, the town of Lakeland quickly gets on board. At first glance, Jack seems to have it all: a successful urban planner, he's also brought home his fiancée, Anne, a talented artist with whom he's fiercely in love. But it doesn't take long for cracks to appear in Jack's idyllic life
Enter Steven Turner - exiled New Yorker, local reporter looking for a scoop, and Jack's best friend in Lakeland. Between the two of them come Anne, who Steven grows close to, and Jack's floundering brother Harris, who spends his nights breaking the law to bury the mistakes of the past that might derail Jack's plans. As Steven's personal and professional incursion into Jack's life intensifies, all four characters find themselves starting to unravel.
Moving, poignant, and rife with humor, The Last Good Chance is a powerful debut novel about the moral compromises we make in the name of loyalty, ambition, and love.
About the Author :
Tom Barbash is the author of the award-winning novel The Last Good Chance and the nonfiction book On Top of the World: Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick, & 9/11: A Story of Loss & Renewal, which was a New York Times bestseller. He currently teaches in the MFA program at California College of the Arts. He grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and now lives in Marin County.
Charlie Thurston is an actor and Earphones Award-winning narrator. He holds an MFA in acting from Brown University / Trinity Rep and has appeared on stages across the country with Trinity Repertory Company, Chautauqua Theater Company, Creede Rep, and at Riverside Theatre and Redmoon Theater, among others. His favorite roles include Edgar in The Completely Fictional-Utterly True-Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen in The Long Christmas Ride Home, Tuzenbach in The Three Sisters, and Tony in You Can't Take It with You.
Review :
A winning debut...A nice mixture of narrative, history, setting, and character: an amiable story drawn by a sure hand.
-- "Kirkus Reviews"
This novel classically exemplifies the plight of a man caught in the crushing momentum of a potentially dynamic business deal laden with corruption.
-- "Booklist"
A well-paced drama with strong characters...Highly recommended.
-- "Library Journal"
Barbash shows himself to be a knowing guide to smalltown politics in a first novel with extraordinary empathic reach.
-- "Publishers Weekly"
