A comedy/tragedy of manners. The new novel from the Man Booker-shortlisted author of The Sisters Brothers Frances Price tart widow, possessive mother and Upper East Side force of nature is in dire straits, beset by scandal. Her adult son Malcolm is no help, mired in a permanent state of arrested development. And then there 's their cat, who Frances believes houses the spirit of her late husband, an infamously immoral world-class cad whose gruesome tabloid death rendered Frances and Malcolm social outcasts. The curious trio head for the exit, escape pariahdom and land in Paris a backdrop for self-destruction and economic ruin, and peopled by a number of singular characters- a bashful private investigator, an aimless psychic and Mme. Reynard, aggressive houseguest and friendly American expat. Brimming with pathos and wit, French Exit is a one-of-a-kind tragedy of manners, a riotous send-up of high society and a moving story of mothers and sons.