Sardonic in the Suburbs

An unusual voice is featured in a book just signed as part of a major two-book deal by Broadway's Deb Futter. It's called The Suburban You, and first-time author Mark Falanga, a senior executive at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, offers a deadpan look at his life as a suburban husband and father. Agent David Kuhn at Kuhn Projects likens Falanga to a mix of Dave Barry and Larry David who brings out the sometimes poignant, often absurd aspects of the well-to-do suburban life. Falanga, who recently began as a Sunday columnist for the Chicago Tribune, does all his writing in his spare time. The deal was for North American rights, for publication this fall.