A Clue to the Exit

In this dazzling philosophical novel, a successful screenwriter confronts mortality, addiction, and the nature of consciousness. Charlie Fairburn, accomplished screenwriter, ex-husband, and absent father, has been given six months to live. He resolves to stake half his fortune on a couple of turns of the roulette wheel and, to his agent's disgust, to write a novel—about death. In the casino, he meets his muse. Charlie grows as addicted to writing fiction as she is to gambling. His novel, set on