Lemon Lewis and Daddy Big, Honey Curry and Red Tom, Spanish George—not to be confused with Georgie the Syph, Poop and Chick and Charlie Boy.

All these and more colorful characters live … in Albany, New York, in October of 1938. William Kennedy has swept his net through that time and place—swept it at the depth inhabited by politicians and journalists, gamblers and criminals—and in [Billy Phelan's Greatest Game, a] flawed but fascinating novel, he empties his catch before us.

The two chief fish are Billy Phelan and Martin Daugherty, who take turns serving as viewpoint character. Billy is a bookmaker and pool shark, a hustler with quick fists, who honors the rule he lives by: If you lose, you pay. Narrow and intense, self-centered but loyal, he is perfect both as a caricature and as a character.

Martin, unfortunately, is a very sick fish at best...