The pace babbles rather than rages, but Markovits writes with such truth and clarity that the story never stagnates. The denouement, a basketball game in which bench-warming Ben plays, at last, is predictable, but it’s still a thrill to have front-row seats. If I didn’t quite buy Ben’s father’s emotional remoteness and inability to pick up the phone — a little more of his side of the story might have fleshed him out and allowed us to be more invested in Ben’s final dilemma — I found Markovits’s child’s-eye view of divorce fresh and authentic.
