Introduction

"A fine entertainment, beautifully wrought." -- New York Post

A funny, wise, and tender story of fatherhood and second chances, for fans of Richard Russo and Jane Smiley. It’s been four years since William 'Belly' O’Leary left his beloved Saratoga Springs for the state penitentiary, but now that he’s served his time on an illegal gambling charge, he’s ready to reclaim his hometown. Trouble is, he’s a stranger now: gone are the days when his swagger had all the girls swooning, when the bar he owned was a hot spot for hard-livers and hard drinkers, when his three surviving daughters bent over backward to please him or avoid his wrath. All his vices have been outlawed, all his haunts have been replaced with Wal-Marts and designer coffee shops, and all his daughters are defying him in one way or another. But Belly is undeterred--threats from his parole officer and neighbors don’t scare him. Soon he’s settling into his old habits and creating a mess wherever he goes. It’s when he finally hits rock bottom that Belly is forced to reevaluate his old life--and maybe it wasn’t worth resurrecting after all. As he slowly acknowledges his past errors, he comes face to face with his biggest regret--the loss of his fourth daughter in a car accident years ago. The secret he’s kept ever since conceals the shame of the worst mistake he’s ever made. With mordant humor and a cast of unforgettable characters, BELLY is an unsentimental look at a misspent life, the absurdities of modern mores, and the resilience of family.

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Excerpt

CHAPTER
1



SARATOGA SPRINGS was stoic as the Statue of Liberty with Grace Kelly’s face and the body of Bettie Page. That’s the way Belly O’Leary thought of his town, like she was a woman in a Greek robe, to be revered. He stared out the big tinted front window of the Greyhound bus as it hobbled north on Route 9, down the long line of motels that sat hungry all winter and grew fat with tourists in the summer. They were fat now. August. Cars streamed out the little roundabouts and bled onto the highway. ... view entire excerpt...

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