National Book Award-winning author Pete Dexter excels at writing eccentric characters and comical, yet touching, prose. In Spooner, Dexter weaves the tale of Warren Spooner, a troubled boy whose father dies shortly after he's born. When his mother marries Calmer Ottosson, a decorated Navy officer fallen from grace, Warren is saved by Calmer's inexhaustible patience. As Warren grows up, the two men forge a bond that will carry them both through the hard times ahead.