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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:  64 reviews
Sales Rank: 37282
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 59 more reviews...
 read Jasper Fforde instead January 5, 2009
teacher26 (chicago)
I can imagine this author plotting out this novel, going, "Ooh, first I'm going to satirize this, and then I'm going to satirize that, and then I'll satirize something else..." A funny book has to work even for those who don't particularly find it funny, and this one doesn't. If you aren't tickled pink by the kooky characters, they just read as incredibly unrealistic. br / br /The narrator is supposed to be a sort of naif, having spent ten years in prison and missed out on major formative experiences, yet he comes off as borderline autistic (which isn't intended). Despite having no clue about life, he manages to speak in broad platitudes and aphorisms. br / br /In addition to which, it reads like he just got back from metaphor camp. Also, there are about seven hundred sentences with the following structure (but different content, of course): "Don't spend money on it. The book, that is." br / br / br /
 Satire at its best December 28, 2008
David S. ONeill
In this dark satire on literary fiction, Sam Pulsifer is man who, at the age of 18, accidentally burns down the home of Emily Dickinson, in the process killing a couple who were making love in her bed. After serving ten years, he returns home where his parents show him all the letters -fan mail - from people who want him burn down other famous literary homes, such as those of Mark Twain and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Ten years after that, now living with his wife and two children, Sam's past begins to catch up with him, when the son of the couple killed shows up wanting something, but Sam is unsure what. And then, someone begins burning the homes of other famous writers. br / br /Clarke lampoons literature, taking on women's book clubs, literary critics, Harry Potter fans, bookstores, English professors, memoir writers and librarians. It's a delightfully funny, often dark in tone, but never really mean. Sam Pulsifer is a sad sack, who through no fault of his own, discovers just what happens when your life spins out of control. br / br /The real mystery for Sam, beyond clearing his name, is what happened to his parents during the last 30 years of their lives. br / br /A brilliant novel.
Clarke IS a Bumbler December 27, 2008
Bruce Burns (Columbus, Ohio United States)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I remember the first time I ever drank coffee. I couldn't imagine why people drank this stuff and, though I'm now 61, I have never drunk another cup of coffee. br / br /If this was the first book I ever read, I would have wondered why people wasted their time reading, and perhaps I might never have read another book again, though my teachers in school would have insisted. So perhaps I can't characterize An Arsonist's Guide as poison to books everywhere. br / br /I sometimes wonder about that: if so many awful books discourage some people from reading anything. Thank God for all of you fellow reviewers who guide us readers to the right books. br / br /I bought this book in an airport bookstore mainly because so many reviewers quoted on the back cover (who cannot have actually read the book) said it was hilarious. No, it isn't; not in the least. If this is hilarious, anyone can write hilarity, Clarke sets the bar for hilarity so low. br / br /The only laugh this book got was from a woman in the airport sitting across from me who read the title. At that point I had just opened the book and so could not warn her away from reading it. br / br /It's 300 pages, just so you know. 300 pages of a story my wife would refer to as "long story, no rug." That's because we once met a guy who related a story to us that went on and on about buying a rug in Romania and driving with it to the border where he wouldn't pay the bribe to get it across, and ended up driving it back to where he bought it to get his money back, etc., etc. "Long story, no rug" she said later. It's become a mantra to us for those who tell an overlong story, especially those who interrupt the flow of a good conversation where everyone is participating. br / br /You want hilarious? Read Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next novels. Now those are funny. Read early Evanovich Stephanie Plum novels (the later ones are just more of the same formula). Read Christopher Moore's Lamb. Those are all hilarious. br / br /You want more hilarity? Call up your funny friends and invite them over for good, funny conversation. Don't lay in bed reading An Arsonist's Guide... br / br /Look, it's tough to write comedy. It's probably harder than any other type of writing. It's pretty brash for one to think he can pull it off. When it fails, it just makes us all angry. I'm most angry at those who lied to me on the back cover and encouraged me to spend my money on this...thing.
 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.
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