Keeping Bedlam at Bay in the Prague Cafe

Keeping Bedlam at Bay in the Prague Café tells the story of John Shirting, a socially inept, quiet young American who has left his country for mysterious reasons and, in a fast-changing capital of Eastern Europe, resolves to recreate one aspect of society in his own, crazily capitalist image. He makes it his mission to return to the frothy fold of the Chicago-based chain of cafes that once employed him, as a barista-Capo-by singlehandedly breaking into a new market and making freshly post-communist Prague safe for free-market capitalism. Full of smart writing, cynical humor, and eccentric characters, Keeping Bedlam at Bay in the Prague Café is a brilliant satire. Poised to be an underground classic, it asks: what does it mean to be sane in a fast-changing world?