Abyss of Human Illusion

“This fine, final work by Brooklyn native Sorrentino . . . finds a rueful charm in the ‘wretched clichés’ of ordinary failure.” —Publishers Weekly Titled after a line from Henry James, Gilbert Sorrentino’s final novel consists of fifty narrative set pieces full of savage humor and cathartic passion—an elegiac paean to the bleak world he so brilliantly captured in his long and storied career. Mir...