In Cock-a-doodle-doo, Philip Weiss has written a scintillating debut novel of politics and love, told with Rabelaisian brio and inspired good sense. It is the story of Jack Gold, the irrepressible, intelligent yet weirdly unknowing narrator, a thirtyish lawyer for left-wing causes, for whom - as the novel opens - idealism has become a joyless chore. There's not much light or hope - not in politics, not for his career.

Then, in the heat of August, toward the end of a Democratic National Convention, Jack encounters Burry Quinlan - vibrant, full-throated, out of control; she's the daughter of a conservative former Secretary of State who's running for the governorship of New York State. Dazzled, Jack finds himself doing dirty tricks for her dad and hanging out at glamour-puss parties, all but lost in the New York jungle of media, society, and power celebs, struggling at all costs to escape sophistication.

As Jack veers back and forth over the lines of political and sexual correctness, a series of startling events, both inner and outer, brings him to his senses. We learn from this ribald, wickedly witty recounting of them just what the risks are - and the gains - in trying to make the world safe for democracy and ourselves.