When Joe arrives in Boston and is mistaken for African -- rather than African American -- he quickly discovers that letting the illusion stand generates magic. A job, a place to live, even a kind of deference he's never known before are suddenly casually endowed on him, a man who surely must have a closer connection to life's hidden possibilities. "Central Square confirms again that George Packer is one of the great young talents of American fiction. This beautifully wrought novel, about a city, a love affair, and the perpetual American hope for renewal, makes high art -- and compelling drama -- from the follies and compromises that attend all of those things" -- Scott Turow.