What starts as a complaint letter turns into an autobiography of the misspent life of the author, Benjamin “Bennie” Ford, who is a poet and translator of Polish literature. Woven through this story is the story of the latest Polish novel that the main character is translating. It is a dark and profane novel but somehow charming at the same time. Bennie’s drinking, failed marriages, suicidal mother all become grist for a novel that weaves comfortably between diatribe, introspection and poetic account. A surprisingly wonderful and captivating novel.