The Financial Lives of the Poets »

Jess Walter not only won the prestigious Edgar Award for his novel Citizen Vince -- as an acclaimed investigative reporter, he presented the compelling true story of Ruby Ridge: The Truth and Tragedy of the Randy Weaver Family. His latest foray into fiction, The Zero, has earned him a National Book Award nomination.

What happens when small-time reporter Matthew Prior quits his job to gamble everything on a quixotic notion: a Web site devoted to financial journalism in the form of blank verse? Before long, he wakes up to find himself jobless, hobbled with debt, spying on his wife's online flirtation, and six days away from losing his home. . . . Until, one night on a desperate two a.m. run to 7-Eleven, he falls in with some local stoners, and they end up hatching the biggest—and most misbegotten—plan yet.

The New York Times - Janet Maslin

The Financial Lives of the Poets is less memorable for its title than for the success with which it captures fiscal panic and frustration. Matt ambles though this book delivering blistering wisecracks about the factors that contributed to his family's fall. From an eBay shopping addiction (Lisa thought she was buying valuable collectibles) to a scathing thumbnail summary of the changes destroying the newspaper business, this book is all too dangerously astute. Mixing financial advice with poetry is a terrible idea. But combining the elements of tragedy with a sitcom sensibility is a good one. And it's what Jess Walter continues to do best.