Publisher's Synopsis
Upton Sinclair meets Joseph Heller, the funniest book since A Confederacy of Dunces. Austin's novel is an unlikely mixture of expose, social satire and high comedy that somehow, brilliantly, succeeds. It will make you laugh, cry, and want to punch out your boss. Don't read this book at work, but by all means read it. Charles Dodt, Author, The Night Boy *** Do you remember the best time of your life? For Chuck Farlowe, his time came and went, one April day back in 1973. His "A" game, unfortunately, was left in the dugout that day. Cut to 1998. His son, Danny, is at the crossroads of his life. A young man in need of answers, he finds them in the form of a long-buried manuscript written by his father back in 1973. Suddenly he finds himself at a strange place and time-the Hotchkis Department Store in downtown Oakland, circa 1970. Danny is introduced to both the store manager, Matt Farber, and the store owner, Isaac Benjamin Stern. Soon a union election begins to loom ominously. Chuck manages to find a kindred spirit in Lee Kroeber, and eventually, after a struggle, with Cooper Smith, whose own bitterness and alienation over store racism threatens to change the entire store dynamic. When Wayne Justice joins the Hotchkis fold in 1971, soon the era of poker and male bonding begin. Rediscovering Mrs. Murphy is all about fighting through the pain of the past and rediscovering what really matters.
