When Gellhorn, a notable poet, begins a university residency in a "dynamic metropolis" and stays at the illustrious M ximo College, he finds himself scandalized, and for little known reason. Scrutiny by his new academic neighbors is the least of his worries, as he learns of the existence of Aaron Schnell, his physical pseudo-twin, and an actor and film "double."
The Chair shares fragments from the oeuvre of Thomas Claque, a recently deceased author who contrived the tale of the pseudo-twins. The Chair's scholarship leads him to the real M ximo College, where he revives those characters and scenarios, before traveling to a smaller prairie town where he reimagines one of Claque's risqu getaways. There he meets a young woman doing her creative thesis on the double in literature.
Petra, a police clerk in an entirely different prairie city, receives a photograph of a missing person and recognizes a passenger from her weekday commute. Non-routine surveillance draws her deeper into his world until a global pandemic abruptly stalls her progress. Her romantic prospect soon leads to a greater mystery punctuated by the words, TULPA MEA CULPA, although its uncanny truth will be ultimately less provocative than serial coverage in the Prairie Pulse.
ThriftBooks sells millions of used books at the lowest everyday prices. We personally assess every book's quality and offer rare, out-of-print treasures. We deliver the joy of reading in recyclable packaging with free standard shipping on US orders over $15. ThriftBooks.com. Read more. Spend less.