An arsonist's guide to writers' homes in New England : a novel

Clarke, Brock (Author).

Record details

ISBN: 1565126149
ISBN: 9781565126145
Physical Description: 317 pages ; 21 cm
print
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Chapel Hill, N.C. : Algonquin Books Of Chapel Hill, 2008, ©2007.

Content descriptions

General Note:

Includes a conversation with the author.

Includes reading group questions and topics for discussion.

Summary, etc.:

The story of Sam Pulsifer, the accidental arsonist and murderer narrator who leads readers through a multilayered, flame-filled adventure about literature, lies, love and life. Growing up in Amherst, Mass., with an editor for a father and an English teacher for a mother, Sam was fed endless stories that fueled (literally and figuratively) the rest of his life. Thus, the blurred boundaries between fact and fiction, story and reality become the landscape for amusing and provocative adventures that begin when, at age 18, Sam accidentally torches the Emily Dickinson Homestead, killing two people. After serving 10 years, Sam tries to distance himself from his past through college, employment, marriage and fatherhood, but he eventually winds up back in his parents' home, separated from his wife and jobless. When more literary landmarks go up in flames, Sam is the likely suspect, and his determination to find the actual arsonist uncovers family secrets and more than a bit about human nature.