I read this book at the behest of Jamie.
The story sounded enthralling, but it was disappointingly not so. It is about Sam Pulsifer, who is convicted of burning the Emily Dickinson house, killing a couple. After leaving prison, he finds his relationship with his parents strained. He goes to university, marries, and returns to the Amherst area. Soon, other writers' homes begin to be burned. While the immediate suspect, he investigates these burnings himself, only to be confronted with issues of truth, love, and family.
The book is entirely too verbose. It has too many didactic ruminations about life and too many rhetorical questions. I think the story is intriguing, but consequently I felt I were trekking through sludge to reach the engaging parts.
2 comments:
I sort of like didactic ruminations myself
Well, I urge you to consider reading this book then. Not only would you get your fill of didactic ruminations, but also there is a plethora of literary allusions and the theme of telling stories.
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