Chance is a novel about Jeremy Chance, a mishap-prone twelve-year-old with an ailing mother, an irascible father and a benevolent grandfather, who is trying to make sense of some unusual occurrences and curious coincidences. The activities, perceptions and concerns of a pre-adolescent boy coping with difficulties at home and at school are explored through comic and serious episodes, as Jeremy learns more about himself and his place in the world. Slices of school life, strange dreams, forays into literary analysis, cold war history, and culinary interludes are blended together in this tale of...