A man decides to run for mayor as the town he lives in descends into chaos—a funny, acerbic novel from the award-winning author of The Hundred Brothers and My Eliot.

“A slice of sulfurous whimsy . . . You are drawn in because of the depth of human feeling that Antrim smuggles in . . . almost below the radar level.”—The New York Times

Pete Robinson, unemployed schoolteacher, surveys his seaside hometown with binoculars from the attic. It’s not looking so good. Families are engaging in warfare in the park. The former mayor was drawn and quartered after shooting missiles into a reflecting pool. Residents have dug pits around their houses and filled them with stakes to keep out the neighbors.

Eager to help, and with the school closed and the position having just opened up, Mr. Robinson decides to run for mayor. Just picture it: his former third graders toting Magic-Marker signs. Vote for our teacher for mayor because he’s the best! But does Mr. Robinson really want to save his town, or does he harbor less virtuous ambitions?

Darkly comedic and sharply astute, Elect Mr. Robinson for a Better World mines the psychosexual bedlam lurking just under the surface of well-mannered middle-class life, offering a portrait of a community as it comes apart at the seams.