Cynical. Obese. Misanthropic. A Saint? Angus Truax - Mr. Misery to his colleagues - profiles victims of misfortune. His articles touch hearts and inspire charity. Unfortunately for Angus, he loathes his job, his subjects and his life so much that he decides to end it. More fool than Hamlet, this unlikely hero jokes his way to the grave, soothing his own despair with rude, audacious honesty. But even a suicidal hermit can't shut out life completely. Before he can make his exit, one last unlucky soul comes knocking at his door, pleading for help. Angus finds himself in what he calls the world's oldest trap. To his astonishment, he discovers that his story isn't over yet.

"Duncan Wheeler is a successful architect who savors the quotidian pleasures in life until a car accident leaves him severely paralyzed and haunted by the death of his young assistant. Now, Duncan isn't sure what there is left to live for, when every day has become a broken series of unsuccessful gestures. Duncan and his wife, Laura, find themselves in conflict as Duncan's will to live falters. Laura grows desperate to help him. An art conservator who has her own relationship to the repair of broken things, Laura brings home a highly trained helper monkey - a tufted capuchin named Ottoline - to assist Duncan with basic tasks. Duncan and Laura fall for this sweet, comical, Nutella-gobbling little creature, and Duncan's life appears to become more tolerable, fuller, and funnier. Yet the question persists: Is it enough?"--Publisher description.

Descent , a novella published in 1920, is set against the background of Jewish life in Russia and Ukraine during the turbulent period leading up to the October Revolution of 1917, a period characterized by the rise of secularism, the rejection of old traditions, the alienation of intellectuals, and the attempt of different generations to find a place for themselves inside and out of the shtetl. The novella centers on the mystery of the suicide of a young pharmacist in Rakitne, a provincial town. Did his death have anything to do with the two women who loved him? Was it the result of despair or an act of protest? And if protest, against what? His old friend seeks answers but finds none. The prose is immaculately crafted, the narrative indirect, and the mood poignant, dark, and disquieting.