The Beautiful Game

After an unfortunate accident tears Manny from a nearly perfect life, he retreats to his childhood home in South America. There, memories spring up, weaving together sport, a search for forgiveness and contemporary history. The action of this short novel lies not only on the soccer pitch but also in the mind of a narrator trying to reconcile two halves of a crosscultural life. Flashbacks smoothly draw the past into the present until Manny faces an overwhelming family secret. Fencer uses circumstances and setting to explore the idea of grace in a game, and in life, when debts are too great to be paid.