Winter Losses - Hardcover

Probst, Mark

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374291012 ISBN 13: 9780374291013

Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1989

Loner Philip Kreg, a repsected partner in a small Manhattan law firm, attempts to save Adam, his only son, when he becomes involved with a shadowy figure whose dealings include illegal arms sales

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From Publishers Weekly:

This first novel, by a stockbroker and former assistant district attorney, has a distinctly odd flavor, as if a post-modern version of a Louis Auchincloss novel had been infused with a dash of Elmore Leonard. Its protagonist is Philip Kreg, a Manhattan lawyer much involved in corporate affairs. He is a dour, unyielding man declining into solitude after the departure of an alcoholic wife; but when his grown son, Adam, a flashy ne'er-do-well, becomes involved with California and Florida gangsters, he allows his life to be turned inside out in the effort to rescue him from terrible danger. Probst writes in a highly sophisticated, allusive style that catches mood brilliantly but does not always clarify the progress of events. The time frame is sometimes unclear and there are too many characters in Kreg's life who are insufficiently differentiated, or whose roles seem superfluous. But Probst knows his lawyers and corporate chiefs, and his glitzy crime scenes, described through Adam's eyes, have a fine malevolence. The denouement, while perhaps inevitable, seems rather perfunctory and the muted ending is flat. But there's no doubt about Probst's original voice, and his ability to evoke middle-aged angst.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal:

Philip Kreg is a highly respected Manhattan lawyer whose livelihood and integrity are threatened by a hostile corporate takeover. His son Adam steals from the West Coast gangsters who employ him. In this counterpoint of geography and generations, Probst provides a contrast between keen moral sensibility and total lack of conscience. The parallel stories merge when Philip tries unsuccessfully to shield Adam from mob retribution. Only after losing his son, his position in the law firm, and most of his fortune does Philip begin to gain a sense of himself. This novel offers a touching picture of a father's tragedy as well as a convincing portrayal of the machinations of big business and big-time crime, but at times the exposition is rather tedious. This is a first novel by the husband of author Maureen Howard.
- Ed. -- Albert E. Wilhelm, Tennessee Technological Univ., Cookeville
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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