The Beggar’s Pawn A Novel
The Beggar’s Pawn A Novel by John L’Heureux, published by Penguin on August 4, 2020, is a literary work that delves into the complexities of family dynamics and trust. This 272-page novel tells the story of David and Maggie Holliss, an ordinary couple on the brink of retirement, whose lives are disrupted by a chance encounter with a stranger named Reginald Parker. Initially grateful for Parker’s intervention in saving their dog, the couple’s goodwill leads to a request for a loan that spirals into a troubling series of events, ultimately challenging their domestic stability.
In The Beggar’s Pawn, readers will find an exploration of the strains of marriage and the nature of trust as the Holliss family’s interactions with Parker evolve from a simple act of kindness to a profound invasion of their lives. The narrative examines the limits of love and the inevitability of fate, presenting a poignant reflection on how a single decision can alter the course of one’s life. This edition, written in English, invites readers to engage with L’Heureux’s final novel, which encapsulates his literary prowess and insight into human relationships.
Official synopsis Publisher
The final book by the noted novelist, short story writer, and teacher John L’Heureux: the story of an affable stranger whose appeals for money gradually upend the lives of an academic’s family
After a decades-long career as a critically acclaimed writer (including several novels with Viking and Penguin in the late ’80s and early ’90s) John L’Heureux had a late flowering in his career. In the year before his death in April of 2019, The New Yorker published three of his stories, and a collection of his short stories will be published by A Public Space in December 2019. His final novel, The Beggar’s Pawn, is the story of a family whose chance meeting with a stranger while dog walking slowly becomes an ominous invasion of their domestic lives. David and Maggie Holliss are an ordinary married couple about to ease into a comfortable, well-earned retirement while tending to three middle-aged children with whom they share an edgy relationship of love and resentment. Reginald Parker enters their lives when he saves their dog from being run over by a truck, and when asked how they can possibly thank him, he replies with a request for the loan of two hundred dollars. They lend it to him, gladly, and thus begins what will become for them and their family a nightmare that moves from comic resignation to stark tragedy. In The Beggar’s Pawn, John L’Heureux explores the strains of marriage, the nature of trust, the limits of love, and the inevitability of fate.
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