Lapham Rising

The main character in Roger Rosenblatt's new novel lives in the Hamptons -- the summer playground for New York's insultingly rich. There is no shortage of annoyances to fuel Harry March's rants, but his anger overloads when his neighbor Lapham air conditions the lawn of his super-sized house. Kurt Andersen asks Rosenblatt, who is best known as an essayist and commentator, why a McMansion (and a talking dog) inspired him to write his first novel.