taft  <p><b>an ex-jazz drummer wants nothing more than to be a good father in this moving family novel by the <i>new york times</i>–bestselling author of <i>the dutch house</i>.</b></p><p>when his lover takes away his son, he&apos;s left only with his beale street, memphis bar. he hires a young waitress named fay taft who brings with her a desperate, dangerous brother, carl, and the possibility of new intimacy. nickel finds himself consumed with fay and carl&apos;s dead father—taft—obsessing over and reconstructing the life of a man he never met.</p><p>a stunning artistic achievement, taft confirms ann pathcett&apos;s standing as one of the most gifted writers of her generation and reminds us of our deepest instincts to protect the people we love.</p><p><b>“what could be merely a literary parlor trick—keeping three stories in the air at once—becomes...as resonant as a blues song, each story harmonizing with and answering others.... expect miracles when you read ann patchett’s fiction.”—<i>new york times</i></b></p><p><b><i> </i></b></p><p><b>“a moving emblem of fatherhood’s rarely explored passion.”—<i>los angeles times</i></b></p><p><b><i> </i></b></p><p><b>"patchett writes with remarkable conviction and attention to telling detail.... [she] is excellent at portraying the steady love and interest that holds the family members together, even though that love and interest isn&apos;t always successful in preserving the members from danger.”—jane smiley, pulitzer prize–winning author of <i>golden age</i></b></p><p><b><i> </i></b></p><b>“strikingly original.”—<i>kirkus reviews</i></b>