"They don't write 'em like Permission anymore. Kristal's biting, beautiful, sex-soaked novel of a screenwriter's unraveling is as bluntly masculine as it is bookishly cultured. louche but glittering, impolite but incisive, as hung up on words as it is on sex, always written with rare brio and clarity.Vividly detailed, shot through with heartache, and slicingly funny about the humiliations of life as a screenwriter.Permission will thrill lovers of old-school, id-driven literary novels." - Booklife "The book's protracted anatomy of drug- and alcohol-fueled deconstruction is immensely insightful and powerful.Kristal writes this dramatic and seedy deterioration with incredible vibrancy and linguistic virtuosity.The dissection of a disintegrating marriage in these pages is unsettlingly vivid, as is the portrait of degradation brought on by addiction.

The fact that the narrator somehow remains likable throughout is as remarkable as it is unexpected.A searingly moving picture of a personal, professional, and marital crackup." - Kirkus Reviews "Reading Marc Kristal's novel, Permission, has been an enriching experience for me both because it has an engrossing story to tell and it is masterfully written-lyrical, humorous, and erudite. I wholeheartedly recommend it." - Gay Talese, author, Honor Thy Father, Thy Neighbor's Wife.