Publisher's Synopsis
An Optimist by Degrees, humorous and absurd, yet serious, is the story of young and homeless Tom Treith, a self-effacing, bent-but-not-broken, rebel contrarian, who takes on the opportunistic "slash and burn" corporate raiders transmuting promising futures into debilitating poverty and homelessness. His raison d'ếtre becomes a "scorched earth" guerrilla war against unscrupulous capitalism gone wrong. Tom obtains "war" financing from an underworld entrepreneurial loan shark, who constantly benchmarks for "best practices" for his management model. Along the way, Tom meets an equally neurotic young woman, who finds arranging silverware on a checkerboard tablecloth an all-day activity. Tom's best street friend is a sage, world-tested, older man who worries Tom's tether to reality has too much slack. Tom ultimately prevails, and he brings justice into his world by doling out "trickle up" payback. The absurdist humor is irreverent to subject matter, yet redeeming of the human condition at the same time.
