A viciously cynical newspaper hack, Page toils at several small rags on Florida's gulf coast. His warped memory of literature, history, and quotes for every occasion--however inappropriate--allow him to write filler, win arguments, placate and enrage friends and enemies, and dissect his own blistering existence.

With constant typing as both master and servant, he pecks endlessly at his collection of old typewriters, hilariously chronicling his sad past and humiliating present, his rage at God, and his hatred for the universe. Page left the wintry north after tragedy and divorce. Now he...