Dr. Tom More has created a stethoscope of the human spirit. With it, he embarks on an unforgettable odyssey to cure mankind's spiritual flu. This novel confronts both the value of life and its susceptibility to chance and ruin. Walker Percy wrote several highly acclaimed books of fiction and nonfiction, including the bestsellers "The Moviegoer" and "The Thanatos Syndrome." He was awarded numerous prizes in his lifetime, including the National Book Award, and is considered one of the greatest American writers of his generation. He lived in Covington, Louisiana, until his death in 1990. Dr. Tom More has created a miraculous instrument--the Ontological Lapsometer, a kind of stethoscope of the human spirit. With it, he plans to cure mankind of its spiritual flu. Though scorned by the experts, Tom embarks on an outrageous odyssey to prove himself. But in attempting to save the world from destruction, our hero ultimately begins to understand what he can never really know--the value of life and its corresponding susceptibility to time, chance, and ruin. "A great adventure . . . So outrageous and so real, one is left speechless."--"Chicago Sun Times" "Immensely readable, vividly entertaining."--"Los Angeles Times" "Brilliant and hilarious . . . Some of the most fascinating characters you'll ever encounter."--"Dallas Morning News" "One of the major novels of our time."--"Milwaukee Journal"