His Illegal Self
by Peter Carey
A strangely delightful book about The Boy, who is eight and who is being raised by his grandmother because his parents were radical extremists in the 1960's. It's also about how a bit of friendly gossip about old friends after your successful Vassar job interview can lead an assistant professor of English to wildly unexpected places — in this case, the remoter corners of Queensland.
This book features what is probably the best fictional phone call ever written.