
An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Daneil Passer
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By:
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Brock Clarke
About this listen
After serving 10 years in prison for his crime, Sam is determined to put the past behind him. He finishes college, begins a career, falls in love, gets married, has two adorable kids, and buys a home. His low-profile life is chugging along quite nicely until the past comes crashing through his front door.
As the homes of Robert Frost, Edith Wharton, Herman Melville, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, and even a replica of Henry David Thoreau's cabin at Walden Pond, go up in smoke, Sam becomes the number-one suspect. Finding the real culprit is the only way to clear his name. But sometimes there's a terrible price to pay for the truth.
An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England is a tour de force: a novel disguised as a memoir, a mystery that cloaks itself in humor, and an artful piece of literature that bites the hand that breeds it.
©2007 Brock Clarke (P)2007 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"[A] delightfully dark story....Sam is equal parts fall guy and tour guide in this bighearted and wily jolt to the American literary legacy." (Publishers Weekly)
This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?
My main problem with the book is that I became very tired of the narrator "bumbling" his way to pain and failure. Those who do not mind listening to someone end up in easily avoidable painful situations may enjoy this book. I honestly have no idea why it became so popularWhat was most disappointing about Brock Clarke’s story?
The main character. He was painful to be inside the head of. He was flaccid and useless, letting bad things happen instead of doing anything active. Having taken a class with Brock this is not surprising. He tends to pick books with narrators that are difficult to like let alone relate toYou didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
It had some decent turns of phrase, but really no, it was pretty unenjoyableHonestly not that good
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Well written and well crafted
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The narrator does not add to the story, neither does the main character, who is whiny and constantly making the wrong choices. You do want to reach out and strangle him.
What saves the story and keeps you listening is the writer's occasionally perfect pieces of figurative language and 1 or 2 universal truths like a person might find when reading a piece of higher literature. I liked the idea that we are all, at some level of consciousness, hoping we are not in our own lives a specific character that we have read. Also, it's intriguing to consider the idea that many people who love to read despise the classics and would relish burning the homes of these classic writers to the ground.
I understand why people dislike this book
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It just droned on and on and seemed to have nothing meaningful to say. Just taking the time to type a review of it makes me feel as nutty as the main character.!!
Less than 1 Star
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I am trying to get through it
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Please get the narrator an encyclopedia
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A downer of a book
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disappointing
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don't miss it!
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Felt like burning the book.
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