The Victim

While his wife is away visiting her mother, Leventhal feels lost and alone. One evening, seeking relief from the New York heat wave, he is accosted in a park near his apartment by a seedy-looking drunk. Levelthal faintly recognizes the hostile man as someone he once met in the past. The man, however, claims Leventhal ruined his life. Can this be true? Did he cause harm to this man? Unable to shake the stranger loose or stop his own self-doubt, Leventhal soon descends into a state of paranoia and fear that threatens his sanity. 'A kind of Dostoyevskian nightmare. . . written with unusual power and insight' The New York Times