FREEDOM'S JUST ANOTHER WORD...

In Joy’s latest novel, a disgraced 55-year-old columnist attempts to redefine himself amid personal and political dysfunction.

Jake Doyle was once a famous Chicago journalist whose column was syndicated in more than 200 newspapers: He was even nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. But an affair with a much younger intern—who became pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy—destroyed both his marriage and his reputation. Now, decades later, with radically reduced duties at the Tribune and having to drive for Uber just to pay the rent, Doyle finds his life turned upside down. His tenuous newspaper gig is jeopardized after he clashes with the newspaper’s billionaire owner, who has political aspirations, and his 31-year-old daughter, who has three DUIs, informs her father that she’s pregnant. His adult son from his affair also becomes entangled with a gun-toting gang member. With his personal and professional life in shambles, Doyle begins an unlikely redemptive journey. Although Doyle has written and revised a novel countless times, only to trash it because it was “too real,” that’s precisely why Joy’s novel works so well—it’s the perfect rendering of a self-sabotaging, neurotic writer. The author explores numerous hot-button political issues (namely gun control and abortion) with intelligence and insight. Doyle’s firsthand experience with both issues—the intern he had an affair with was killed by gun violence shortly after giving birth, and his own daughter must decide whether or not to have an abortion—is powerful and thought provoking. The impressive depth of character development coupled with the intricate plotlines and relentless pacing make for an unputdownable book.

A compulsively readable novel that will be easy to devour in one marathon sitting.