The plot is a former puppeteer disgraced from his once silly puppet show on the streets of Manhattan slowly slips into madness as his once catatonic but now dead mother becomes a constant hallucination and his Czech mistress dies of cancer at a young age, leaving him with a miserable wife whom he deplores!. He makes a trip to New York for a friend's funeral and has many strange things happen to him before he goes back to his wife's house to find her cheating on him with a woman!. A big theme (if this helps) and maybe the entire theme is his brother is shot down by the Japs in WW2 and his mother's catatonic state influences his decisions---particularly his feelings toward women---throughout his life!. But maybe the biggest part of the book is his 13 year affair with his European mistress!. Can anyone remind me of this freaking book's title!? I am drawing a blank!.Www@QuestionHome@Com