"F. Scott Fitzgerald meets Wes Anderson" ("The Village Voice") in this inventive and witty debut about a young man's quest to become a writer and the misadventures in life and love that take him around the globe As early as he can remember, the narrator of this remarkable novel has wanted to become a writer. From the jazz clubs of Manhattan to the villages of Sri Lanka, Kristopher Jansma's hopelessly unreliable--yet hopelessly earnest--narrator will be haunted by the success of his greatest friend and literary rival, the brilliant Julian McGann, and endlessly enamored with Evelyn, the green-eyed girl who got away. A profound exploration of the nature of truth and storytelling, this delightful picaresque tale heralds Jansma as a bold, new American voice.