An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England | 
 enlarge | Author: Brock Clarke
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
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Rating:  61 reviews
Sales Rank: 43892
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Pages: 317
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 1
ISBN: 1565126149
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9781565126145
ASIN: 1565126149
Publication Date: September 2, 2008
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Amazon.com Review
bAmazon Best of the Month, August 2007/b: In iAn Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New Englan/i, the quirkiest title for a book since iSpecial Topics in Calamity Physics/i, Brock Clarke lights up the page with the chronicle of a man who, as a teenager, accidentally burned down the Emily Dickinson House in Amherst, Massachusetts, killing two people. ("It's probably enough to say that in the Massachusetts Mt. Rushmore of big gruesome tragedy, there are the Kennedys, and Lizzie Borden and her ax, and the burning witches at Salem, and then there's me.") After serving ten years in prison for the crime, Sam Pulsifer moves on with his life, but the emergence of a copycat who's turning New England's literary landmarks to ash puts Sam back in the spotlight and on a quest for the truth. Comparisons to iThe World According to Garp/i and iA Confederacy of Dunces/i may be bold, but this heartfelt, funny, and highly entertaining tale promises to be Brock Clarke's breakout book for certain. i--Brad Thomas Parsons/i
Product Description
A lot of remarkable things have happened in the life of Sam Pulsifer, the hapless hero of this incendiary novel, beginning with the ten years he spent in prison for accidentally burning down Emily Dickinson's house and unwittingly killing two people. emerging at age twenty-eight, he creates a new life and identity as a husband and father. But when the homes of other famous New England writers suddenly go up in smoke, he must prove his innocence by uncovering the identity of this literary-minded arsonist. br br In the league of such contemporary classics as iA Confederacy of Dunces/i and iThe World According to Garp/i, iAn Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England/i is an utterly original story about truth and honesty, life and the imagination.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 56 more reviews...
 Witty and Intelligent October 21, 2008
Arlyn Gold (NYC, NY USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Smart and highly stylistic, AAGTWHINE is not for everyone, as the range of reviews here shows. If you're looking for a book to get lost in, with characters of great depth and emotion, where a man facing great personal disappointment overcomes tragedy and becomes a better person, don't read it. If you are sick of the above, though, and want an intelligently witty take on memoirs, book clubs and modern writing, enter here.
At last, something smart to read October 15, 2008
J. Moore (Philadelphia, PA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Too often I find anymore that books can either be grouped into one of two categories. They are either clever and witty but lack any sort of cohesive plot, or they sacrifice mature writing for the sake of storytelling. An Arsonist'S Guide To Writers' Homes In New England is the first book I've read in quite some time that manages to accomplish an imaginative story while elevating the standards of what fiction has become anymore. br / br /I can understand how the negative reviewers of this book might be intimidated by Mr. Clarke's vast intellect; Arsonist's Guide is peppered with witicisms and instances of dramatic irony that might leave the average reader perplexed. The underlying themes of the book are subtle, ensconced in a world where normalcy is indicative of dysfunction and secrets that only reveal themselves once all the layers have been pulled back. br / br /If you, like me, have been waiting for a book saturated with both style and substance, Arsonist's Guide is a real treat.
 Nothing to write home about October 15, 2008
Terry Mathews (a small town in east Texas)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Just because an author can come up with a quirky, interesting title doesn't mean he can write a quirky, interesting book. br / br /Case in point: "An Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New England," Brock Clarke's new story about Sam Pulsifer, a man who spends 10 years of his early life in prison for setting fire to the family home of Emily Dickinson, killing two people in the process. br / br /Early press for the book said it was akin to John Kennedy Toole's "A Confederacy of Dunces." Baloney. This story can't even stand in the shadow of that modern American classics. The book's main character is self-absorbed, dull and doesn't have a clue. He's not someone I'd want to know. Ever. The story doesn't have any punch, much less enough dark humor to move the plot along. br / br /The author dispatches Sam's past life pretty quickly. He serves his sentence, goes to college, marries a gorgeous girl who doesn't seem to mind that he's as bland as white flour, has two children, gets a divorce and moves home with his folks in a hurry. His folks have some seriously heavy issues of their own, but I frankly didn't care what happened to them or Sam. Nothing funny or quirky here - just words filling page after endless page.
 if you like being the outsider at an all-night party where everyone is telling "inside frat jokes"... October 1, 2008
Lexi Andreas (Danville, Pa United States)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
...then you'll like this book. Otherwise, I doubt it. br / br /I found the book overly verbose and redundant (just like that phrase.) The author can write a pithy line, that's for sure. Unfortunately, he knows it, so he gives us two, three, four metaphors where one good one would suffice--indeed, where one good one would have had more punch. Sigh. I finally had to skim 3/4 of the way through the book. br / br /Also, the satire falls flat because there is way too much of it. Just like you need light to see the shadow, you need some straight elements to give the satire depth. But in this novel, everything--and I do mean everything and everyone is absurd. Sure, I've known college profs like Lee Ardor, but in this story filled to the brim with crazies, she hardly stands out. You can't enjoy her craziness. br / br /Too bad, because, the author had a great idea and set up. Just got way too caught up in his own satire and verbiage.
A few too many words short of better October 1, 2008
Todd Stockslager (Raleigh, NC)
The back-cover praise quotes for this book are effusive about its "heartbreakingly hilarious" humor, adventure, and darkly-comic tragedy. I saw some humor, some tragedy, some story, but not enough for such extravagant praise. br / br /Mostly what I saw was a writer trying too hard to reach for those things, and coming up a few too many words short. Interestingly, in the acknowledgment, Clarke thanks several journals for publishing parts of the novel "often in dramatically different form," which perhaps accounts for the feeling I have that this reads more like a novel that could have been edited into a short story or a small collection of short stories to better effect. Think Steven Millhauser (The Barnum Museum (American Literature Series)) without the skill to say as much in fewer words. br / br /An Arsonist's Guide . . . reads as a memoir of Sam Pulsifer, a self-described "bumbler" who accidentally burns down Emily Dickenson's landmark New England house, and serves ten years in prison for the arson and the two accidental deaths in the fire. Out of prison, Sam tries to put his behind in the past, but his mistakes and family history keep rising up to meet him in the ultimate anti-"Hakuna matada". br / br /There are moments of dark humor and insight into the human condition, but not enough to raise this above three stars.
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