In AN EXILE'S PERFECT LETTER, the sequel to Larry Mathews' The Artificial Newfoundlander, sixty-two-year-old English professor Hugh Norman is simply going through the motions on his way to retirement. But when he learns of a long-lost friend's sudden death, and then shockingly discovers a dead body in a city park, Hugh is compelled to deal with resurfacing memories, a cast of exxentric characters, and a police detective who has taken a sudden interest in his life. With its flawless sense of comedic timing and Hugh Norman's consistently entertaining interior monologue, An Exile's Perfect Letter is a sharp-witted look at how we create meaning amid the turmoil of random events. This is an elegy for lost youth, a send-up, a love letter, and a portrait of a man coming of age all over again.