by John Barth
First published 2002
Ebenezer Cooke arrives in late 1600s Maryland with two missions from his father: manage the family tobacco plantation and compose an epic poem about colonial life. Nothing goes according to plan. Pirates capture him on the voyage over. Impostors steal his father's estate through elaborate deceptions. He falls for a prostitute who works the farms. Scheming colonists plot to separate him from his jealously guarded virginity. Characters around him constantly assume false identities, making it impossible to know who to trust. Each attempt to fulfill his duties leads to greater chaos and loss. The Maryland colony proves far more treacherous and bawdy than the innocent Cooke anticipated. His quest to preserve both his virtue and his family's interests becomes increasingly desperate as rogues and swindlers circle like vultures. What begins as a straightforward business arrangement transforms into a wild odyssey through the seediest corners of colonial America, where survival depends on navigating an endless parade of human vice and deception.
Genres: satire, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, adventure
Vibes: bawdy, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Maryland
Period: 1600s
756 pages · Paperback · Atlantic Books
Content warnings: sexual-content