Isaac and His Devils

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“Enchanting . . . Bursting with talent and love of life,” said the Washington Post Book World of Fernanda Eberstadt’s extraordinary first novel, Low Tide . Now her exuberant gifts are even more abundantly evident on a larger scale. Isaac and His Devils tells the story of a boy who throws off sparks of what might be genius—and of his father, a man who has walked away from the possibilities of his own brilliance. Isaac Hooker, from birth to his twenty-second year, compensates for his ill health with a radiant tireless curiosity. He is certain of his destiny: he will “transfigure America in some vague, huge way.” He is the smartest. He will be the best, the first. At his side—watching him, loving him, driving him (to his mother’s ceaseless irritation)—is Isaac’s father, Sam, who sees in his son’s promise the triumphs he