Paula Fox's most famous novel to date, "What Remains," which was adapted into a film starring Shirley MacLaine, has now become part of the canon of American literature. It tells the story of Sophie and Otto Brentwood, a childless, fairly wealthy couple living in a brick house in Brooklyn. Sophie, who occasionally translates French books and writes screenplays, primarily lives off the money her husband earns as a successful lawyer, but she increasingly feels uncomfortable and empty in her marriage. A minor incident, the bite of a stray cat, escalates into a life-threatening crisis. Mishaps, misunderstandings, and arguments reveal the fragility of their marital and social life. It is fascinating how Paula Fox subtly connects personal misfortune with societal decay while remaining firmly within the realm of the human and the abyssal.