Keeper and Kid A Novel [Paperback]

A fine, fetching novel with a good heart . . . a tribute to the author's endless comic inventiveness. ???Stewart O'Nan, author ofSongs for the Missing

Three years after his divorce, James Keeper is enjoying his new job selling antiques at a quirky shop. His new love, Leah, is intriguing and passionate. Business is steady and Keeper's friends always turn up for Card Night. But one phone call from his former mother-in-law changes it all.

Days later, Keeper comes away with a son he never knew he had. Immediately, life takes on a new meaning. As he and Leo adjust to the shock of each other and their suddenly altered lives, Keeper begins to let in the people in his life???by turns strange and heartwarming; funny and painful. A coming of age story for the guy who thought he had already grown up, this novel is a sharp and witty account of what we do for love.

One of the most enchantingly realistic tots in recent fiction. We don't know whether to keep turning the pages or dive into them and offer to help babysit. ???The Boston Globe

Keeper and Kidis a marvel. I dare you. Open this book and try to put it down. ???Ann Hood, author ofThe Knitting Circle

At once immensely engaging and about the things that matter most: how we love, how we move on, how the past moves with us. Lovely, wise, and surprising.

???Elizabeth Graver, author ofThe Honey Thief

It isn't merely ???amusing,' it is downright funny . . .[Hardy] creates characters so eccentric and endearing you'll be sorry to see the last of them. ???Statesman Journal(Salem, Oregon)

Edward Hardy is the author of the novelGeyser Life, grew up in Ithaca, has an MFA from Cornell, and has published stories withPloughshares,GQ,Witness,the Quarterly,the Massachusetts Review, and other literary magazines. His work has been included inThe Best American Short Stories, and he livel3*