In the opening scene of Scott Simon's second novel, Windy City, the mayor of Chicago is found dead in his office late one night, "his bronze, brooding face lying on the last two slices of a prosciutto and artichoke pizza."
Steve Inskeep talks to Simon, host of Weekend Edition Saturday, about his book, about growing up in Chicago and about the simultaneously selfless — and self-absorbed — enterprise of politics.
"I think politics is a local specialty in Chicago, the way that blues and improvisational comedy is a local specialty," Simon says.
"As a matter of fact, I think politics often resembles the blues and improvisational comedy in Chicago."
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.