The Beggar’s Pawn

This droll, sordid final novel by the late L’Heureux (The Heart Is a Full-Wild Beast) examines the limits of charity alongside an enthralling family chronicle. Set in Palo Alto in the 2000s amid rising fear of terrorism, the story follows aging academics David and Maggie Holliss. Their sardonic middle-age daughter, Claire, who considered becoming a nun until she found out she’d have to convert to Catholicism, is a particular financial and emotional burden. But Claire is nothing compared to Reginald Parker, an indolent and parasitic novelist who claims to be “walking in the way of the Lord” and whom the Hollisses meet when he saves their dog from being hit by a truck. Sensing the grateful Hollisses are easy prey, Parker exploits them for an escalating series of loans and, after a disastrous dinner party, embarks on an affair with Claire. By the end of the decade, Parker uses his precocious daughter, upon whom the Hollisses dote, as an unwilling prop in his machinations. In a form implicitly modeled on the novels of Iris Murdoch (the characters discuss Murdoch’s work), the erudite narration balances ideas and colorful characters. L’Heureux’s feat cements his enduring voice and talent. (Aug.)