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A Fine and Private Place
Jonathan Rebeck is homeless. Bankrupt. He has dropped out of society and has been living quietly in a local cemetery, under the care of a raven who is quite good at stealing sandwiches.
Far from being lonely, however, Jonathan is able to converse with the ghosts around him, and finds himself following two new spirits, Michael Laura, as they fall in love with each other. He becomes invested in, and part of, their cautious romance. But the circumstances behind Michael's death are slipping from his memory, and the further from life they drift, the closer the loss of love feels.
When a visiting widow stumbles across Jonathan in his graveyard home, will the living world begin to intrude on this fine and private place?
Peter S. Beagle's legendary, beautiful debut novel is filled with all his characteristic warmth and humanity. With a new introduction by Neil Gaiman, A Fine and Private Place is a timeless classic from the author of The Last Unicorn.
Far from being lonely, however, Jonathan is able to converse with the ghosts around him, and finds himself following two new spirits, Michael Laura, as they fall in love with each other. He becomes invested in, and part of, their cautious romance. But the circumstances behind Michael's death are slipping from his memory, and the further from life they drift, the closer the loss of love feels.
When a visiting widow stumbles across Jonathan in his graveyard home, will the living world begin to intrude on this fine and private place?
Peter S. Beagle's legendary, beautiful debut novel is filled with all his characteristic warmth and humanity. With a new introduction by Neil Gaiman, A Fine and Private Place is a timeless classic from the author of The Last Unicorn.
299 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 23, 1960
170 people are currently reading
8035 people want to read
About the author
Peter S. Beagle
221 books3,878 followersPeter Soyer Beagle (born April 20, 1939) is an American fantasist and author of novels, nonfiction, and screenplays. He is also a talented guitarist and folk singer. He wrote his first novel, A Fine and Private Place , when he was only 19 years old. Today he is best known as the author of The Last Unicorn, which routinely polls as one of the top ten fantasy novels of all time, and at least two of his other books (A Fine and Private Place and I See By My Outfit) are considered modern classics.
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May 17, 2018
Do you think that a review comes over better this way? I have only done this once and am thinking of doing it again.
https://soundcloud.com/mistralia?utm_...
I love going into graveyards and churches. I like looking at the tombstones and the inscriptions and try to imagine what that individual did in his/her life. I then always light a couple of candles in the church. However, I certainly didn’t think that I would thoroughly enjoy a story about a man called Mr Rebeck who lived in a large, sprawling cemetery for nearly twenty years.
What I find remarkable about the author is that he was only nineteen when he started writing this book, and yet he has the maturity of a much older man.
Briefly, Mr Rebeck has been living in a mausoleum in this large cemetery in the northern part of the Bronx. He had been a New York druggist but he went bankrupt, took a job with a grocer as a clerk and then shortly after he got very drunk and he wandered in singing into the cemetery. When he woke up in the morning the raven was there and he said that he would continue bringing food to Mr Rebeck for as long as he stayed.
The first chapter in the book shows just how resourceful the raven is: “The baloney weighed the raven down, and the shopkeeper almost caught him as he whisked out the delicatessen door. Frantically he beat his wings to gain altitude, looking like a small black electric fan. An updraft caught him and threw him into the sky. He circled twice, to get his bearings, and began to fly north.”
And the raven also talks and has discussions with Mr Rebeck which I rather liked. Imagine having a conversation with a raven...
The young couple Michael and Laura arrive in the cemetery and become romantically linked but I don’t want to spoil this and so I’ll leave this for the reader to find out. It’s rather interesting how they died and how this all adds to the charm and yet intrigue of the book.
The best character for me though was Mrs Gertrude Klapper, a widow from the Bronx, who visits her husband Morris’ mausoleum, and befriends Mr Rebeck. The Bronx wit on her part is a joy to read, the comings and goings with bodies and coffins, the philosophy of Mr Rebeck and the poignancy, brilliant storytelling and the question, what will happen in the end?
I just loved it!
https://soundcloud.com/mistralia?utm_...
I love going into graveyards and churches. I like looking at the tombstones and the inscriptions and try to imagine what that individual did in his/her life. I then always light a couple of candles in the church. However, I certainly didn’t think that I would thoroughly enjoy a story about a man called Mr Rebeck who lived in a large, sprawling cemetery for nearly twenty years.
What I find remarkable about the author is that he was only nineteen when he started writing this book, and yet he has the maturity of a much older man.
Briefly, Mr Rebeck has been living in a mausoleum in this large cemetery in the northern part of the Bronx. He had been a New York druggist but he went bankrupt, took a job with a grocer as a clerk and then shortly after he got very drunk and he wandered in singing into the cemetery. When he woke up in the morning the raven was there and he said that he would continue bringing food to Mr Rebeck for as long as he stayed.
The first chapter in the book shows just how resourceful the raven is: “The baloney weighed the raven down, and the shopkeeper almost caught him as he whisked out the delicatessen door. Frantically he beat his wings to gain altitude, looking like a small black electric fan. An updraft caught him and threw him into the sky. He circled twice, to get his bearings, and began to fly north.”
And the raven also talks and has discussions with Mr Rebeck which I rather liked. Imagine having a conversation with a raven...
The young couple Michael and Laura arrive in the cemetery and become romantically linked but I don’t want to spoil this and so I’ll leave this for the reader to find out. It’s rather interesting how they died and how this all adds to the charm and yet intrigue of the book.
The best character for me though was Mrs Gertrude Klapper, a widow from the Bronx, who visits her husband Morris’ mausoleum, and befriends Mr Rebeck. The Bronx wit on her part is a joy to read, the comings and goings with bodies and coffins, the philosophy of Mr Rebeck and the poignancy, brilliant storytelling and the question, what will happen in the end?
I just loved it!
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March 10, 2010Oh, this book is so wonderful. I kind of hate Peter S. Beagle for having written it when he was NINETEEN YEARS OLD! Is that true?? Is it possible?? I was reading a library copy and it was almost more strength than I possessed not to dog-ear and underline the hell out of it, the writing is just so great. There are so many places I wanted to mark and remember. So. I will be buying my own copy, and maybe some for gifts.
It's a book about a man who has lived for 19 years in a mausoleum of a huge cemetery, and how his relationship with a pair of new ghosts--and with a living woman who visits her husband's grave--changes him. There's also a raven that I adore. Love this:
The raven looked down at the lost feather. "I'm a lousy lander," he said. "Never in my life have I made one decent landing."
"Hummingbirds land well," Michael said. "Like helicopters."
"Hummingbirds are great," the raven agreed. "You should have seen me when I found out I wasn't ever going to be a hummingbird. I cried like a baby. Hell of a thing to tell a kid."
ha ha! Love it. Read this book, but skip the library and go straight for your own copy so you can underline and dog-ear to your heart's content!
It's a book about a man who has lived for 19 years in a mausoleum of a huge cemetery, and how his relationship with a pair of new ghosts--and with a living woman who visits her husband's grave--changes him. There's also a raven that I adore. Love this:
The raven looked down at the lost feather. "I'm a lousy lander," he said. "Never in my life have I made one decent landing."
"Hummingbirds land well," Michael said. "Like helicopters."
"Hummingbirds are great," the raven agreed. "You should have seen me when I found out I wasn't ever going to be a hummingbird. I cried like a baby. Hell of a thing to tell a kid."
ha ha! Love it. Read this book, but skip the library and go straight for your own copy so you can underline and dog-ear to your heart's content!
October 2, 2016
A Fine and Private Place: A gentle tale of love, death, and lost souls
Originally posted at Fantasy Literature
Peter S. Beagle is a well-known author of many fantasy novels, including the classic The Last Unicorn. However, I don’t often hear mention of his debut novel, A Fine and Private Place (1960), written when he was only 19 years old. Given his age it’s a phenomenal achievement — the prose is polished, filled with pathos and humor, and the characters’ relationships are deftly described. And yet I couldn’t get into the story at all, because there was almost no dramatic tension of any kind — just two central romantic relations, one between two people lonely and disconnected in the living world, and one between two recently deceased spirits not ready to let go of life.
The story bears remarkable similarities to Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, which was almost certainly influenced by it. A Fine and Private Place tells the tale of Jonathan Rebeck, a homeless man who has been living in a New York cemetery for the last 19 years in solitude. He is fed regularly by a wise-cracking talking raven (reminiscent of Matthew the Raven, the faithful servant of Morpheus in Gaiman’s SANDMAN series) who steals sandwiches from local eateries. The other special thing about Jonathan is that he can see and converse with the ghosts of the deceased. In fact, he generally meets and orients them when they first arrive at the cemetery. Beagle’s conceit is that the dead neither go to heaven or hell, but rather linger initially without corporeal form, slowly forgetting what it was like to be alive, and eventually fading away. It’s almost like a second “life,” but inferior in all aspects to real life.
When Jonathan meets the newly-arrived Michael Morgan, a university teacher who may or may not have been poisoned by his beautiful wife, they strike up a friendship and spend many hours (and pages) discussing life, death, regrets, and relationships while playing chess. Just when we think that Jonathan is just a foil for the dead, he encounters Mrs. Clapper, a recent widow who has buried her husband in an elaborate mausoleum in the cemetery. When she meets Jonathan by chance, he carefully conceals his identity, pretending he is visiting a deceased friend’s grave. Mrs. Clapper was very attached to her husband in life, and his loss has cast her adrift, so that she goes through the motions of life without much purpose. Jonathan is filled with both excitement at interacting with a living person, and fear that his secret will be exposed.
Perhaps I am a bit jaded as a reader, but within the first few chapters of A Fine and Private Place I could see where the story was leading, particularly in terms of the relationships of the two couples, living and dead, the predictable revelations about their lives, and why they ended up in their circumstances. I knew the story arcs’ final destinations, and was not surprised by anything in the story. This led to a complete lack of dramatic tension or excitement, and since 90% of the story consisted of lengthy conversations among the four main characters, much like a Woody Allen movie. I like those ironic conversations among New Yorkers as much as anyone, but it does get old if little else happens.
Of greater interest were the overlaps with Gaiman’s later The Graveyard Book, which borrows the central idea that the dead linger on in limbo, tied to where they were buried, and a central character who lives in the graveyard, shunning the living world and feeling more comfortable with the dead. However, that book (which I loved) was about a boy growing up in those circumstances, and as he grew older he had the natural urge to step outside his confines and make contact with the outside world, which is a perfect analogy for all of us who grew up timid and took time to build up the courage to step outside our shells and face life with all its ups and downs.
However, I had trouble connecting with Jonathan in Beagle’s story, as he steadfastly resists any invitations to venture outside, having been so traumatized by his experiences as a failed pharmacist. Though events in the story finally force his hand, his adamant resistance to interact with other human beings got a bit tiresome. I could understand this story being written by an older, more world-weary writer, so it was a big surprise to know how young Beagle was when he wrote it. I think he managed to write convincingly about mature characters looking back at their failures in life, and the power of love to overcome barriers even including death, but it’s still an unusual choice for a young writer’s debut work.
In any case, A Fine and Private Place is a well-written story and the audiobook is narrated by the author himself, but nevertheless it failed to engage me. It has been reprinted regularly for over 50 years and was chosen by David Pringle for his Modern Fantasy: The 100 Best Novels, so clearly it struck a chord for many readers, but I was hoping for a more eventful story.
Originally posted at Fantasy Literature
Peter S. Beagle is a well-known author of many fantasy novels, including the classic The Last Unicorn. However, I don’t often hear mention of his debut novel, A Fine and Private Place (1960), written when he was only 19 years old. Given his age it’s a phenomenal achievement — the prose is polished, filled with pathos and humor, and the characters’ relationships are deftly described. And yet I couldn’t get into the story at all, because there was almost no dramatic tension of any kind — just two central romantic relations, one between two people lonely and disconnected in the living world, and one between two recently deceased spirits not ready to let go of life.
The story bears remarkable similarities to Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, which was almost certainly influenced by it. A Fine and Private Place tells the tale of Jonathan Rebeck, a homeless man who has been living in a New York cemetery for the last 19 years in solitude. He is fed regularly by a wise-cracking talking raven (reminiscent of Matthew the Raven, the faithful servant of Morpheus in Gaiman’s SANDMAN series) who steals sandwiches from local eateries. The other special thing about Jonathan is that he can see and converse with the ghosts of the deceased. In fact, he generally meets and orients them when they first arrive at the cemetery. Beagle’s conceit is that the dead neither go to heaven or hell, but rather linger initially without corporeal form, slowly forgetting what it was like to be alive, and eventually fading away. It’s almost like a second “life,” but inferior in all aspects to real life.
When Jonathan meets the newly-arrived Michael Morgan, a university teacher who may or may not have been poisoned by his beautiful wife, they strike up a friendship and spend many hours (and pages) discussing life, death, regrets, and relationships while playing chess. Just when we think that Jonathan is just a foil for the dead, he encounters Mrs. Clapper, a recent widow who has buried her husband in an elaborate mausoleum in the cemetery. When she meets Jonathan by chance, he carefully conceals his identity, pretending he is visiting a deceased friend’s grave. Mrs. Clapper was very attached to her husband in life, and his loss has cast her adrift, so that she goes through the motions of life without much purpose. Jonathan is filled with both excitement at interacting with a living person, and fear that his secret will be exposed.
Perhaps I am a bit jaded as a reader, but within the first few chapters of A Fine and Private Place I could see where the story was leading, particularly in terms of the relationships of the two couples, living and dead, the predictable revelations about their lives, and why they ended up in their circumstances. I knew the story arcs’ final destinations, and was not surprised by anything in the story. This led to a complete lack of dramatic tension or excitement, and since 90% of the story consisted of lengthy conversations among the four main characters, much like a Woody Allen movie. I like those ironic conversations among New Yorkers as much as anyone, but it does get old if little else happens.
Of greater interest were the overlaps with Gaiman’s later The Graveyard Book, which borrows the central idea that the dead linger on in limbo, tied to where they were buried, and a central character who lives in the graveyard, shunning the living world and feeling more comfortable with the dead. However, that book (which I loved) was about a boy growing up in those circumstances, and as he grew older he had the natural urge to step outside his confines and make contact with the outside world, which is a perfect analogy for all of us who grew up timid and took time to build up the courage to step outside our shells and face life with all its ups and downs.
However, I had trouble connecting with Jonathan in Beagle’s story, as he steadfastly resists any invitations to venture outside, having been so traumatized by his experiences as a failed pharmacist. Though events in the story finally force his hand, his adamant resistance to interact with other human beings got a bit tiresome. I could understand this story being written by an older, more world-weary writer, so it was a big surprise to know how young Beagle was when he wrote it. I think he managed to write convincingly about mature characters looking back at their failures in life, and the power of love to overcome barriers even including death, but it’s still an unusual choice for a young writer’s debut work.
In any case, A Fine and Private Place is a well-written story and the audiobook is narrated by the author himself, but nevertheless it failed to engage me. It has been reprinted regularly for over 50 years and was chosen by David Pringle for his Modern Fantasy: The 100 Best Novels, so clearly it struck a chord for many readers, but I was hoping for a more eventful story.
August 11, 2010
Jonathan Rebeck, a homeless man, lives in a New York cemetery. His companions are a talking raven and two new ghosts. While the ghosts explore the circumstances of their deaths and fall in love, Rebeck meets a widow named Mrs. Klapper. Will Rebeck's feelings for Klapper be enough for him to leave behind his cemetery home?
I bought this for a quarter at a book sale and the story was worth a thousand times that. I was hooked from the moment the talking raven tried stealing the salami in the first chapter.
Beagle crafted quite a tale. While it's a fantasy story on the surface, it's really a story about relationships. The relationships between the four main characters is what drives the story and sets it apart from other fantasy tales. Rebeck's fear of the world outside the cemetery was a tangible thing and the revelation of how Michael Morgan really died was one of the more powerful parts of the book. I loved that there was no big bad menace other than the characters' own personalities.
I recommend A Fine and Private Place to fans of fantasy stories that are about people rather than quests.
I bought this for a quarter at a book sale and the story was worth a thousand times that. I was hooked from the moment the talking raven tried stealing the salami in the first chapter.
Beagle crafted quite a tale. While it's a fantasy story on the surface, it's really a story about relationships. The relationships between the four main characters is what drives the story and sets it apart from other fantasy tales. Rebeck's fear of the world outside the cemetery was a tangible thing and the revelation of how Michael Morgan really died was one of the more powerful parts of the book. I loved that there was no big bad menace other than the characters' own personalities.
I recommend A Fine and Private Place to fans of fantasy stories that are about people rather than quests.
February 25, 2013
I first read A Fine and Private Place in 1970. It was my first introduction to the work of Peter S. Beagle. I was 18 years old. That I can still recall the opening scene so clearly is an indication that this book was a unique experience for me as a reader. I immediately followed this book by reading The Last Unicorn. A Fine and Private Place is a contemporary 'ghost' story set in a cemetary, and The Last Unicorn is a lovely fantasy set in an alternate world. I recommend both of them without reservation.
August 6, 2016
A lonely man lives in a New York cemetery is accompanied by two ghosts and a talking raven. Along the way he learns about life and love. The story is humorous and touching without being overly sentimental. Peter Beagle's simple and straightforward prose makes the story quick and easy to read, yet unforgettable.
October 13, 2015
Book 2 of the Great Beagle Reread.
Disclaimer: This is going to be an un-apologetically emotional review, because I do not have thoughts about this book, only feelings.
This is Beagle's first published work, it came out when he was 19, which is utterly depressing. Reading this is a bit like watching a toddler pick up a violin and play Mozart.
I wasn't even 19 when I first read it, and it floored me. Now, rather more years later than I'd like to admit, it has exactly the same effect. You'd think some sort of wisdom acquired in the intervening years would have diluted the power of this book over me but, if anything, it cuts deeper.
This is the least subtle of his works; it is so densely packed with insights and philosophy that it's a bit like drowning. I found there were chapters I couldn't get through in one sitting, I had to keep coming up for air, going away and writing some of my own thoughts, then coming back, suitably armed, for the next barrage. He writes like someone who knows they are dying, who must get out every important thought and realisation they've ever had in one go, before their time is up. That would be a criticism, if it weren't for the sheer quality and depth of those insights.
I was surprised to find I had forgotten entirely about Mrs. Klapper. Perhaps it is because she was the only character I couldn't relate to. I like her well enough, but the one chapter from her point of view just seems so empty by comparison. I think not getting Mrs. Klapper says more about me than the book.
So what is this about? I could not presume to tell you, but for me, this book is about life and death as a choice, and not something that happens to you. It is about people who are alive, but not living, and people who are dead but more alive than the rest of us. (ugh, how clunky that sounds after reading such beautiful prose.)
I could quote from any page of this book, it is a book of quotes really, loosely strung together with moments of humour and sadness, but for me the summary is this: (and it's near the end of the book, so maybe don't read it if you're planning to read the whole thing.)
We are all ghosts. We are conceived in a moment of death and born out of ghost wombs, and we play in the streets with other little ghosts, chanting ghost-rhymes and scratching to become real. We are told that life is full of goals and that, although it is sadly necessary to fight, you can at least choose the war. But we learn that for ghosts there can only be one battle: to become real. A few of us make it, thus encouraging other ghosts to believe it can be done.
See, it is not subtle, and that is what I love about this book. In his later works Beagle wraps his thoughts in gentle layers of poetry and myth and symbolism, either to protect us or out of humility, I'm not sure, but in this he is fearless, he holds nothing back.
Beagle is the ghost who makes me believe it can be done.
Disclaimer: This is going to be an un-apologetically emotional review, because I do not have thoughts about this book, only feelings.
This is Beagle's first published work, it came out when he was 19, which is utterly depressing. Reading this is a bit like watching a toddler pick up a violin and play Mozart.
I wasn't even 19 when I first read it, and it floored me. Now, rather more years later than I'd like to admit, it has exactly the same effect. You'd think some sort of wisdom acquired in the intervening years would have diluted the power of this book over me but, if anything, it cuts deeper.
This is the least subtle of his works; it is so densely packed with insights and philosophy that it's a bit like drowning. I found there were chapters I couldn't get through in one sitting, I had to keep coming up for air, going away and writing some of my own thoughts, then coming back, suitably armed, for the next barrage. He writes like someone who knows they are dying, who must get out every important thought and realisation they've ever had in one go, before their time is up. That would be a criticism, if it weren't for the sheer quality and depth of those insights.
I was surprised to find I had forgotten entirely about Mrs. Klapper. Perhaps it is because she was the only character I couldn't relate to. I like her well enough, but the one chapter from her point of view just seems so empty by comparison. I think not getting Mrs. Klapper says more about me than the book.
So what is this about? I could not presume to tell you, but for me, this book is about life and death as a choice, and not something that happens to you. It is about people who are alive, but not living, and people who are dead but more alive than the rest of us. (ugh, how clunky that sounds after reading such beautiful prose.)
I could quote from any page of this book, it is a book of quotes really, loosely strung together with moments of humour and sadness, but for me the summary is this: (and it's near the end of the book, so maybe don't read it if you're planning to read the whole thing.)
We are all ghosts. We are conceived in a moment of death and born out of ghost wombs, and we play in the streets with other little ghosts, chanting ghost-rhymes and scratching to become real. We are told that life is full of goals and that, although it is sadly necessary to fight, you can at least choose the war. But we learn that for ghosts there can only be one battle: to become real. A few of us make it, thus encouraging other ghosts to believe it can be done.
See, it is not subtle, and that is what I love about this book. In his later works Beagle wraps his thoughts in gentle layers of poetry and myth and symbolism, either to protect us or out of humility, I'm not sure, but in this he is fearless, he holds nothing back.
Beagle is the ghost who makes me believe it can be done.
February 5, 2010
I really don't know what to say about A Fine and Private Place. It's a sweet, touching ghost story about love, life, death and homelessness. There's a man who's run away from live and spent 19 years living in a graveyard. There's a widow who meets him while visiting her husband's grave. There's a young man ghost who has allegedly been poisoned by his wife. There's a beautiful young woman ghost who was hit by a truck. Add a raven and a really bad night guard (bad as in he doesn't guard well) and you have the cast of characters for this charming piece.
A Fine and Private Place has a lot of promise and charm, but it doesn't live up to the promise. I liked it a lot, but I didn't love it. I don't regret the time I spent reading it, I'm just glad I got it at the library.
A Fine and Private Place has a lot of promise and charm, but it doesn't live up to the promise. I liked it a lot, but I didn't love it. I don't regret the time I spent reading it, I'm just glad I got it at the library.
July 15, 2010
Hm... I love Peter S. Beagle's style. I love his ideas and I love the way he puts words together. Logically, I should love everything he writes, right? Well, apparently I don't.
When I started reading A Fine and Private Place, the back cover (which is the summary above) and the first chapter or so really pulled me in. But then it slowed down and stayed slow. Hopelessly slow. It took me forever to read because I'd curl up with it and there was nothing to keep me awake. In 260-something pages, pretty much nothing happens. And as I almost never fail to mention, that usually doesn't bother me because I focus more on characters and character development than I do on plot. However, in this case, the characters seemed flat and a little boring. There was one "twist" that I hope wasn't actually supposed to be a twist because it was so obvious. And other than that, it was just a lot of somewhat confusing philosophy. Or perhaps it wasn't confusing but I just didn't agree with it? I'm not sure. Whatever the truth of it is, this book just wasn't really for me.
However, it was technically very well-written, as one expects from Peter S. Beagle. If anyone reading this is a fan and hasn't read this book, I'd say give it a try. It may not have made it onto my ALL TIME FAVORITES list, but I'm not at all sorry that I read it.
When I started reading A Fine and Private Place, the back cover (which is the summary above) and the first chapter or so really pulled me in. But then it slowed down and stayed slow. Hopelessly slow. It took me forever to read because I'd curl up with it and there was nothing to keep me awake. In 260-something pages, pretty much nothing happens. And as I almost never fail to mention, that usually doesn't bother me because I focus more on characters and character development than I do on plot. However, in this case, the characters seemed flat and a little boring. There was one "twist" that I hope wasn't actually supposed to be a twist because it was so obvious. And other than that, it was just a lot of somewhat confusing philosophy. Or perhaps it wasn't confusing but I just didn't agree with it? I'm not sure. Whatever the truth of it is, this book just wasn't really for me.
However, it was technically very well-written, as one expects from Peter S. Beagle. If anyone reading this is a fan and hasn't read this book, I'd say give it a try. It may not have made it onto my ALL TIME FAVORITES list, but I'm not at all sorry that I read it.
November 4, 2024
What a great imaginative story this was about Mr. Rebeck. He has made a nice, cozy life for himself living inside a cemetery, hiding out in his makeshift home in a mausoleum for the last 19 years undetected. His trusty raven friend brings him food each day to keep him alive, as well as update him with news from the city. Mr. Rebeck has become scared to ever leave the cemetery and has anxiety about ever getting caught and kicked out. So far, though, he has it down to a science to hide from the night guards, and all is well.
What's really interesting, though, is that he can also see and interact with newly dead people's ghosts until they are ready to continue on. He gives them advice and befriends them, helping them however he can.
One day, he meets Mrs. Klapper and develops a friendship with her when she is there to visit her husband's grave in the cemetery. Eventually, she keeps returning because she looks forward to seeing him there, and they form a relationship.
At the same time, a couple of ghosts he happens to meet also form a unique friendship, and it makes this a very delightful book.
This had several interesting twists to it, and the ending was fairly unexpected, but tied it all together well.
This was a fun audiobook that I was glad I stumbled onto and would recommend it.
What's really interesting, though, is that he can also see and interact with newly dead people's ghosts until they are ready to continue on. He gives them advice and befriends them, helping them however he can.
One day, he meets Mrs. Klapper and develops a friendship with her when she is there to visit her husband's grave in the cemetery. Eventually, she keeps returning because she looks forward to seeing him there, and they form a relationship.
At the same time, a couple of ghosts he happens to meet also form a unique friendship, and it makes this a very delightful book.
This had several interesting twists to it, and the ending was fairly unexpected, but tied it all together well.
This was a fun audiobook that I was glad I stumbled onto and would recommend it.
November 20, 2009
This should be a melancholy book with all the talk of death, wasted lives, and lost loves. Yet Peter S. Beagle can inject charm into a pickle and in doing so, lifts this tale into a amazing look at our attempts to find meaning and love. Mr. Rebeck wandered into a cemetery 20 years ago and now lives there avoiding the living and only finding company with the ghosts and a raven. Michael and Laura has recently died but are struggling with both their deaths and their past lives...and their feelings for each other. There are some pretty heavy themes going on here but in Beagles' hand they slide effortlessly through the pages and never fails to give me a feeling of awe over the beauty of his prose and passion of his ideas. Have a handkerchief ready at the end of this one.
July 5, 2011
Original review posted on The Book Smugglers HERE
A few weeks ago, I read and reviewed Sleight of Hand, my first real introduction to Peter S. Beagle’s writing and I loved it so much I proceeded to add some of his other books to my TBR pile: The Last Unicorn because everybody seems to love it and A Fine and Private Place which came highly recommended by The Other Ana (www.thingsmeanalot.com) I decided to start in chronological order: A Fine and Private Place was Mr Beagle’s first book, published back in 1960 and written when he was merely 19 years old.
Well, you can colour me dumbfounded: this was his first book? Written when he was NINETEEN? It is almost unbelievable but there you have it: talent. Mr Beagle has it in spades.
Jonathan Rebeck has been living in an abandoned mausoleum within Bronx’s Yorkchester Cemetery and for the past 19 years hasn’t crossed its gates. There, he has everything he needs. He bathes in the public restrooms, drinks from the public water fountain, gets his food delivered by a talking, friendly raven (because ravens bring things to people – that’s what they do) and generally spends his days in quiet, solitary contemplation. Sometimes though, he gets the fleeting company of the recently dead before they move on to wherever they must go. As they all do eventually because the dead forget about living and eventually fade away.
Michael Morgan is newly dead, certain he was killed by his wife and determined to stay put and not let go of life but just like any other ghost, soon enough he starts forgetting. On the other side of the spectrum, the idea of fading away suits Laura Durand, another recent arrival, well enough. Ironically, she can’t really rest and finds herself feeling more alive than ever. The two strike up a friendship just as Mr Rebeck starts to enjoy the company of a living person for the first time in 19 years by befriending Gertrude Klapperm, widow of another of the cemetery’s residents.
A Fine and Private Place is a wonderful novel of magic realism and it revolves around the aforementioned four people (and the one raven). Very, very little happens in terms of plot which is really, a funny thing to say, because the main theme of the novel (death vs. life) is so momentous and there is a such a gravitas around its characters and the conversations they have with each other that it almost makes me uncomfortable to be so crass as to say that there is hardly any action within these covers.
But there isn’t. Not in the strict sense of the word although there is some movement towards say, the future, in the ending. This is a very introspective story and the characters spend their time talking or thinking about life and death. Not that it is a heavy, depressing piece of writing. Quite the contrary, there is beauty and melancholy and delicate consideration about people’s lives and even laugh-out-loud funny moments, courtesy of the raven. The story is mostly confined to the cemetery (this fine and private place) though, as three of its main characters are unable to leave it: the ghosts because they physically can’t and Mr Rebeck because he won’t allow himself to.
The significance of the latter is obvious: who is really living, who is really dead? The ghosts fight to live, to grasp one last moment before they forget everything. Rebeck is worst than a ghost, with his self-imposed imprisonment, even though he lives in perpetual self-denial believing that he is free from societal norms and is actually providing a service to the dead with his companionship.
Beyond that, there is the examination of the afterlife and what it entails: in this world, there is no hell or heaven. There is only memory and forgetfulness and the ghosts inhabit that place in-between. It doesn’t mean that things are black or white. Quite the contrary, if there is anything to be said about this novel is how even as the characters philosophise to their heart’s desires, the answers are fuzzy or non-existent. Take memory itself. Its power is so tremendous that it can ground ghosts and make them more alive. It can do the same to the living and imprison them to the past. At one point in the novel it is said that despite popular belief, it is “the living that haunt the dead”.
Or how about love? Does love last forever? Must it? When two of the characters fall in love, is it really love what they feel? Or is it a last attempt to remain alive? Does it matter? I guess it is up to the reader to answer that one.
A Fine and Private Place is a beautifully written novel, the sort of book that needs to be enjoyed and savoured slowly. I loved it: it is truly incredible, lovely and really romantic too.
A few weeks ago, I read and reviewed Sleight of Hand, my first real introduction to Peter S. Beagle’s writing and I loved it so much I proceeded to add some of his other books to my TBR pile: The Last Unicorn because everybody seems to love it and A Fine and Private Place which came highly recommended by The Other Ana (www.thingsmeanalot.com) I decided to start in chronological order: A Fine and Private Place was Mr Beagle’s first book, published back in 1960 and written when he was merely 19 years old.
Well, you can colour me dumbfounded: this was his first book? Written when he was NINETEEN? It is almost unbelievable but there you have it: talent. Mr Beagle has it in spades.
Jonathan Rebeck has been living in an abandoned mausoleum within Bronx’s Yorkchester Cemetery and for the past 19 years hasn’t crossed its gates. There, he has everything he needs. He bathes in the public restrooms, drinks from the public water fountain, gets his food delivered by a talking, friendly raven (because ravens bring things to people – that’s what they do) and generally spends his days in quiet, solitary contemplation. Sometimes though, he gets the fleeting company of the recently dead before they move on to wherever they must go. As they all do eventually because the dead forget about living and eventually fade away.
Michael Morgan is newly dead, certain he was killed by his wife and determined to stay put and not let go of life but just like any other ghost, soon enough he starts forgetting. On the other side of the spectrum, the idea of fading away suits Laura Durand, another recent arrival, well enough. Ironically, she can’t really rest and finds herself feeling more alive than ever. The two strike up a friendship just as Mr Rebeck starts to enjoy the company of a living person for the first time in 19 years by befriending Gertrude Klapperm, widow of another of the cemetery’s residents.
A Fine and Private Place is a wonderful novel of magic realism and it revolves around the aforementioned four people (and the one raven). Very, very little happens in terms of plot which is really, a funny thing to say, because the main theme of the novel (death vs. life) is so momentous and there is a such a gravitas around its characters and the conversations they have with each other that it almost makes me uncomfortable to be so crass as to say that there is hardly any action within these covers.
But there isn’t. Not in the strict sense of the word although there is some movement towards say, the future, in the ending. This is a very introspective story and the characters spend their time talking or thinking about life and death. Not that it is a heavy, depressing piece of writing. Quite the contrary, there is beauty and melancholy and delicate consideration about people’s lives and even laugh-out-loud funny moments, courtesy of the raven. The story is mostly confined to the cemetery (this fine and private place) though, as three of its main characters are unable to leave it: the ghosts because they physically can’t and Mr Rebeck because he won’t allow himself to.
The significance of the latter is obvious: who is really living, who is really dead? The ghosts fight to live, to grasp one last moment before they forget everything. Rebeck is worst than a ghost, with his self-imposed imprisonment, even though he lives in perpetual self-denial believing that he is free from societal norms and is actually providing a service to the dead with his companionship.
Beyond that, there is the examination of the afterlife and what it entails: in this world, there is no hell or heaven. There is only memory and forgetfulness and the ghosts inhabit that place in-between. It doesn’t mean that things are black or white. Quite the contrary, if there is anything to be said about this novel is how even as the characters philosophise to their heart’s desires, the answers are fuzzy or non-existent. Take memory itself. Its power is so tremendous that it can ground ghosts and make them more alive. It can do the same to the living and imprison them to the past. At one point in the novel it is said that despite popular belief, it is “the living that haunt the dead”.
Or how about love? Does love last forever? Must it? When two of the characters fall in love, is it really love what they feel? Or is it a last attempt to remain alive? Does it matter? I guess it is up to the reader to answer that one.
A Fine and Private Place is a beautifully written novel, the sort of book that needs to be enjoyed and savoured slowly. I loved it: it is truly incredible, lovely and really romantic too.
April 2, 2024
I should have loved this when I was Laura's age, or maybe even as a teen, romantic and idealistic and all. But I wasn't really into this kind of stuff then. Now that I'm older than Klapper, I can appreciate the charm and the poetry and the themes better. The raven almost steals the show imo. And I like that in another language the title is "Hey Rebeck!"
btw, I did not actually read the edition shown so I have no idea whether I read the complete or definitive edition. It seemed fine. Anyway, I just chose the cover that I liked best. Laura has black hair, otherwise some of the other covers are ok.
---
So, even more powerful, several years on. I admit, I hardly remembered it, but my review does stand. With the additional note that this would make a fantastic buddy read or choice for book club. So much to discuss. What is love, when one cannot touch one's beloved? Can any good come from hiding from the world? What is one capable of doing for a friend? What is friendship? What is the value of memory? Etc. etc.
Early in the book we spend more time with the raven. At one point he gifts us this insight: "Goddam organizers, he thought. You get something good going, and somebody comes along and organizes it. He told himself that this was inevitable, the way of the world, but it bothered him. The raven would have been in favor of a movement in the general direction of chaos, consternation, and disorganization, had he not known that such a project would require the most organization of all. Besides, there would undoubtedly be a squirrel running it."
But his perspective is not completely dropped. He also provides just the right small note that isn't as somber as most of the rest: "Hummingbirds are great. ... You should have seen me when I found out I wasn't ever going to be a Hummingbird. I cried like a baby. Hell of a thing to tell a kid."
The people are more complex and more anguished, mostly: "There isn't too much we can do for ourselves or each other, ... except be in love because it's a little better than not being in love."
Highly recommended if you're in the mood for something philosophical, rather brilliant at times, and have the time to savor it a bit. (It took me three bedtimes and part of a day.)
btw, I did not actually read the edition shown so I have no idea whether I read the complete or definitive edition. It seemed fine. Anyway, I just chose the cover that I liked best. Laura has black hair, otherwise some of the other covers are ok.
---
So, even more powerful, several years on. I admit, I hardly remembered it, but my review does stand. With the additional note that this would make a fantastic buddy read or choice for book club. So much to discuss. What is love, when one cannot touch one's beloved? Can any good come from hiding from the world? What is one capable of doing for a friend? What is friendship? What is the value of memory? Etc. etc.
Early in the book we spend more time with the raven. At one point he gifts us this insight: "Goddam organizers, he thought. You get something good going, and somebody comes along and organizes it. He told himself that this was inevitable, the way of the world, but it bothered him. The raven would have been in favor of a movement in the general direction of chaos, consternation, and disorganization, had he not known that such a project would require the most organization of all. Besides, there would undoubtedly be a squirrel running it."
But his perspective is not completely dropped. He also provides just the right small note that isn't as somber as most of the rest: "Hummingbirds are great. ... You should have seen me when I found out I wasn't ever going to be a Hummingbird. I cried like a baby. Hell of a thing to tell a kid."
The people are more complex and more anguished, mostly: "There isn't too much we can do for ourselves or each other, ... except be in love because it's a little better than not being in love."
Highly recommended if you're in the mood for something philosophical, rather brilliant at times, and have the time to savor it a bit. (It took me three bedtimes and part of a day.)
May 2, 2016
For those who are interested, there is a talking raven and chess with the dead. PETER BEAGLE WROTE THIS AT NINEFUCKINGTEEN. I am not going to get into what I was writing at the tender age of ninefuckingteen. In any case: a book about death and love, unsentimental and full of stunning sweetness. This (along with The Diary of Anne Frank, Breakfast of Champions, & Winesburg Ohio) is a book that makes me start crying in five pages or less. This is not a bad thing. Oh, and Peter S. Beagle can describe the hell out of a morning or a sideways glance.
September 6, 2020
This book came from a good friend, whose opinion I value highly. I don't tend to read much fantasy or sci-fi (I'd rather be entertained by that genre in another medium) - but often books are so well-written that it seems a shame not to enjoy them in their original creation. ‘A Fine and Private Place’ more than falls into this category.
I loved the language, the descriptions and the fine, sensitive writing that made this book such a wonderful read. It seemed to inhabit its own space and to heighten everything around me whilst I was reading it. I'm looking forward to reading more by this author - he's actually very hard to categorise and some enterprising publisher should undertake a marketing campaign and release his entire catalogue for a new audience, using someone like Neil Gaiman or Neal Stephenson to provide an introductory essay to each work.
I loved the language, the descriptions and the fine, sensitive writing that made this book such a wonderful read. It seemed to inhabit its own space and to heighten everything around me whilst I was reading it. I'm looking forward to reading more by this author - he's actually very hard to categorise and some enterprising publisher should undertake a marketing campaign and release his entire catalogue for a new audience, using someone like Neil Gaiman or Neal Stephenson to provide an introductory essay to each work.
October 17, 2017
A sweet story abut an old man who lives in a cemetery and has given up on life. He can converse with and see the newly-dead and likes to befriend and help them on their journey. He is also friends with a rascally raven who helps him survive by bringing him food. When a recent widow comes to visit the grave of her husband, she notices Mr. Rebeck. The 2 unlovely and unlikely protagonists fall in love, as do the 2 latest ghosts to enter the world of the dead. Mr. Rebeck must soon make a decision to return to life or stay mired in the cemetery. How Mrs. Klepper helps him is one of the sweetest parts of the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
February 9, 2023I read this some years ago. I don’t remember when. It’s a sweet story. I thought I’d put it in my Goodreads “read” shelf. Either I didn’t or Goodreads deleted it.
October 22, 2025
**3.25 stars rounded down**
Finished this last night, and overall while I enjoyed the experience, the pacing left me feeling a little relieved it’s over. What starts out as a languid stroll through the cemetery, meeting the local residents - both the living and the dead - at some point shifts into a (possible) murder mystery, a spectral love story and a philosophical treatise on what it means to truly live - all at once. If that sounds like too much, I can assure you that it absolutely is! This piling on of different layered plot threads were accompanied by shifts in tone that left me a little confounded. The first time a declaration of love was made I had to flip back a few pages to make sure I hadn’t missed something (I hadn’t.)
While the romance was admittedly sweet, it felt so sudden that I felt robbed of the experience of watching the two characters fall in love. Maybe the point was that this experience is meant to feel fundamentally different when both parties are already dead? I suspect it was less intentional than that however, more a symptom of the author’s youth and relative inexperience on full display (it’s my understanding he was only 19 when he wrote this) rather than an intentional choice.
The strength for me, comes less from the central romance, but more from the wonderful side characters. The lumbering Paul Bunyan-esque giant of a man who works the night shift at the cemetery, the widow stuck in a loop of visiting her husband's extravagant mausoleum, the dutiful raven who provides updates on a criminal trial and scavenges for food to bring back to the cemetery’s sole living resident that hasn’t left the grounds in over 19 years. The book is at its best when it leans into the fantastical and playful elements, and overall I enjoyed my time with its unusual cast of characters.
Finished this last night, and overall while I enjoyed the experience, the pacing left me feeling a little relieved it’s over. What starts out as a languid stroll through the cemetery, meeting the local residents - both the living and the dead - at some point shifts into a (possible) murder mystery, a spectral love story and a philosophical treatise on what it means to truly live - all at once. If that sounds like too much, I can assure you that it absolutely is! This piling on of different layered plot threads were accompanied by shifts in tone that left me a little confounded. The first time a declaration of love was made I had to flip back a few pages to make sure I hadn’t missed something (I hadn’t.)
While the romance was admittedly sweet, it felt so sudden that I felt robbed of the experience of watching the two characters fall in love. Maybe the point was that this experience is meant to feel fundamentally different when both parties are already dead? I suspect it was less intentional than that however, more a symptom of the author’s youth and relative inexperience on full display (it’s my understanding he was only 19 when he wrote this) rather than an intentional choice.
The strength for me, comes less from the central romance, but more from the wonderful side characters. The lumbering Paul Bunyan-esque giant of a man who works the night shift at the cemetery, the widow stuck in a loop of visiting her husband's extravagant mausoleum, the dutiful raven who provides updates on a criminal trial and scavenges for food to bring back to the cemetery’s sole living resident that hasn’t left the grounds in over 19 years. The book is at its best when it leans into the fantastical and playful elements, and overall I enjoyed my time with its unusual cast of characters.
May 8, 2007
I love "The Last Unicorn"--I've probably re-read it at least half a dozen times. When I saw "A Fine & Private Place" in the bookstore yesterday, a special re-released version of a yet unread Peter Beagle book, I had to get it. I flew through it on a stunning day at the beach. There are a couple of lines in here that were particularly gorgeously crafted and followed me throughout the book. Apt, since it's a book about ghosts and hauntings.
Surprisingly, it doesn't read like a first novel. The language is gorgeous, the storytelling effortless and the characters are alive, flawed and beautiful. Considering it takes place in a graveyard, this book isn't particularly spooky. But if you think hard enough about the deeper meanings, it is possible to feel quite despondent about death. But don't. I don't think that's what he intends, at all.
Surprisingly, it doesn't read like a first novel. The language is gorgeous, the storytelling effortless and the characters are alive, flawed and beautiful. Considering it takes place in a graveyard, this book isn't particularly spooky. But if you think hard enough about the deeper meanings, it is possible to feel quite despondent about death. But don't. I don't think that's what he intends, at all.
October 9, 2016
This is a high three star read. This is an in depth character study and contemplative book. One of the only plot arcs involves discovering the truth of one of the ghost's death. Otherwise, this is a book about four main characters and a raven and what they think about the nature of life and death. Though this takes place in summer, it had a very autumnal feel for me. This also takes place in New York City. I thought that setting came through in the story. The characters voices are all unique, which was excellent, and there's a good balance of male and female characters. The raven was also pretty awesome and snarky. I enjoyed this, but thought the ending was weaker than the beginning, hence the three rather than four stars.
tbr-2
November 6, 2025
March 16, 2019
Reto Popsugar #32: Una historia de fantasmas
Donde el cementerio es el mejor sitio donde puedes ocultarte de la vida ... hasta que el amor tal vez te encuentre ... aunque sea por media hora.
O algo asi.
[creo que Hamlet pensaba lo mismo:
LORD POLONIUS :Will you walk out of the air, my lord?
HAMLET : Into my grave.
LORD POLONIUS : Indeed, that is out o' the air.]
Esta es la primera novela de Peter S. Beagle , publicada en 1960, quien es mejor conocido por esa obra icónica que es el Último Unicornio. Llena de frases bonitas, de Nueva York en verano vista por los ojos de un cuervo , digo de un hombre que ha preferido pasar 19 años viviendo dentro de un mausoleo antes de asomarse a vivir entre el resto, y que ve, conversa y habla con fantasmas de diferentes cosas. De soledad , de parejas, de amor, y de música.
Por otra parte, hay ciertos elementos en esta historia como el cuervo y los fantasmas que hacen señalar a algunos que este es más bien Realismo Mágico .
Hay mucho tiempo donde en realidad no pasa nada, es solo un monologo sobre todos los pensamientos de Jonathan, el hombre vivo en el cementerio; y los de Morgan el fantasma que se aferra con fuerza a esta tierra y no quiere ser una sombra que se va difuminando.
«—Estás vivo —afirmó el cuervo—. Te escondes detrás de las lápidas, pero la vida te sigue. Huiste de ella hace diecinueve años y te persigue como un cobrador de morosos. —Cloqueó quedamente—. La vida debe quererte muchísimo.
—¡No deseo que me quieran! —gritó el señor Rebeck—. Es una carga para mí.»
Donde el cementerio es el mejor sitio donde puedes ocultarte de la vida ... hasta que el amor tal vez te encuentre ... aunque sea por media hora.
O algo asi.
[creo que Hamlet pensaba lo mismo:
LORD POLONIUS :Will you walk out of the air, my lord?
HAMLET : Into my grave.
LORD POLONIUS : Indeed, that is out o' the air.]
Esta es la primera novela de Peter S. Beagle , publicada en 1960, quien es mejor conocido por esa obra icónica que es el Último Unicornio. Llena de frases bonitas, de Nueva York en verano vista por los ojos de un cuervo , digo de un hombre que ha preferido pasar 19 años viviendo dentro de un mausoleo antes de asomarse a vivir entre el resto, y que ve, conversa y habla con fantasmas de diferentes cosas. De soledad , de parejas, de amor, y de música.
«Le quiere, sin duda, pero tienen ideas distintas del amor. Él quiere bailar con ella en una terraza, con luna llena y una orquesta de treinta y seis músicos. Quiere cantar con ella bajo la luvia, como Gene Kelly. Ella sabe cómo son las orquestas de treinta y seis músicos. Hay que alimentarlos y luego no queda nada para los niños.»
Por otra parte, hay ciertos elementos en esta historia como el cuervo y los fantasmas que hacen señalar a algunos que este es más bien Realismo Mágico .
Hay mucho tiempo donde en realidad no pasa nada, es solo un monologo sobre todos los pensamientos de Jonathan, el hombre vivo en el cementerio; y los de Morgan el fantasma que se aferra con fuerza a esta tierra y no quiere ser una sombra que se va difuminando.
January 2, 2011
This is a contemplative book about life, love, and death that follows the interactions between people, ghosts, and a talking raven in a cemetery. I have rather mixed feelings about this book. There is a whole lot of introspective dialogue going on, particularly in the conversations between two ghosts who contemplate who they were when they were living and what it all means to them now that they are dead. It gets very annoying at times, yet some things hit me on such a personal level that I would think, "damn you, Peter S. Beagle, get out of my head!" Then there is a man who is so afraid of life that he's spent the last 19 years living in a cemetery and his growing relationship with a widow who often visits her husband's grave, and I honestly loved every moment of their interactions. The philosophizing is often overwrought ... yet when a discussion of the basic elements of life, purpose and poetry, happens between a raven and a squirrel, I cannot help but admire the genius.
Basically, I'm not sure whether I love this book or hate it, so I'll give it a 3.
Basically, I'm not sure whether I love this book or hate it, so I'll give it a 3.
May 30, 2013
There are no happy endings, because nothing ever ends. That (admittedly paraphrased) quote pretty much encapsulates the book, which is sometimes sweetly cynical, and always bittersweetly romantic. Prose that is poetic, with its beautiful and sometimes stark similes and metaphors, without being florid or cloying, and it shocked me how modern it could sound, in its ideas and its love for the city in which it takes place (there were a few tell-tale signs, like talk of the El and the fact that penicillin was new within twenty years of the book's publication!) It seemed almost as if it could be a play, with its idea-heavy dialog and stark characters and setting. Lovely. A book, a fantasy, that hits you right at your core, but in a gentle way that lingers, forgive me for this, like a ghost long after you're done with it.
April 28, 2016
Delightful, simply delightful! From the very first line, you'll know that this is a book unlike any other you've read. Beagle dances between Young Adult Lit and very serious Grown Up Lit, and the end result is a beautiful book about mortality for readers of all ages.
Have you ever pictured your own funeral? Have you ever stopped to think on the things we say about the dead, the ceremony and ritual of the funeral itself? Is all the ceremony for the dead or for the living? This charming little book starts with the death of a quaint and ordinary man, and it vacillates between treacle and somberness and really opens you up for some laughs, some tears, and a lot of pondering.
It's witty and funny and bittersweet and thoroughly unique. 5 stars out of 5.
Have you ever pictured your own funeral? Have you ever stopped to think on the things we say about the dead, the ceremony and ritual of the funeral itself? Is all the ceremony for the dead or for the living? This charming little book starts with the death of a quaint and ordinary man, and it vacillates between treacle and somberness and really opens you up for some laughs, some tears, and a lot of pondering.
It's witty and funny and bittersweet and thoroughly unique. 5 stars out of 5.
May 15, 2017
Parts of this book reminded me of Audrey Niffenegger's Her Fearful Symmetry, but it's better. I love a good story of this type that's not scary and this one is almost perfect.
October 30, 2008
At met Peter Beagle at Dragon*Con in 2007, a real treat because his storytelling and use of language had amazed me in The Last Unicorn. I had seen the movie first, as a kid, and my sister Stacy had played the VHS tape over and over and over again so much that I was convinced I hated the story. But when I later read the book I knew I had discovered a rare, amazing author.
Fast-forward to another author, Margaret Weis, who told me that she had read Peter Beagle's first novel, A Fine and Private Place when she was young and it was one of her favorite books of all time. So there I was, at Dragon*Con '07, at his table, and the kind, older gentleman was very gracious with his time and willing to put up with me asking him questions.
I threw down money at his booth and purchased a short-story collection and the Margaret-recommended novel that Beagle had written at the age of 19. He told me that he wrote the story at a point in his life where he spent lots of time in a huge graveyard in New York. I came home with a treasured autographed copy that I vowed to read ... yet for dozens of reasons I did not pick it up again for over a year.
Maybe it was because of the recent death of my father, or the appeal of a more quiet, introspective story -- but after all this time I picked up my copy and have been making it my nighttime reading for the past week.
I'll go ahead and warn you: A Fine and Private Place is not a page-turner. It's the equivalent of a character-focused art film, not an epic thrill-ride. This is a story that takes its time and reveals its beauty in its characters and in its language.
This is not a book about plot. The author ignores any sense of pacing. This is a book about people, both alive and dead, and ideas. It asks questions and hints at the answers.
If you're the kind of reader who can live with that, you're in for a treat. Beagle, even at age nineteen, has a way with language that makes me feel like a thick-thumbed toddler on my keyboard. The voice of his characters are so distinct and feel so real that you get a real sense of them. Yet at the same time the way they speak you feel these words should be spoken on the stage. (And that certainly makes sense, given the author's involvement in theater.) This story didn't grip me, but its quiet world of solitude and ghosts invited me back and I was happy to go.
My friend Miranda has a hobby of going into old cemeteries to photograph the elaborate graves, the mausoleums, and stone angels. Before reading this book I never quite understood what the draw was, and while I cannot speak for her, I suddenly find myself wanting to go with her one day and walk in this world.
Can you define life? Death? Love? Me either. And A Fine and Private Place doesn't do it either, but it definitely gives you a few things to think about.
Fast-forward to another author, Margaret Weis, who told me that she had read Peter Beagle's first novel, A Fine and Private Place when she was young and it was one of her favorite books of all time. So there I was, at Dragon*Con '07, at his table, and the kind, older gentleman was very gracious with his time and willing to put up with me asking him questions.
I threw down money at his booth and purchased a short-story collection and the Margaret-recommended novel that Beagle had written at the age of 19. He told me that he wrote the story at a point in his life where he spent lots of time in a huge graveyard in New York. I came home with a treasured autographed copy that I vowed to read ... yet for dozens of reasons I did not pick it up again for over a year.
Maybe it was because of the recent death of my father, or the appeal of a more quiet, introspective story -- but after all this time I picked up my copy and have been making it my nighttime reading for the past week.
I'll go ahead and warn you: A Fine and Private Place is not a page-turner. It's the equivalent of a character-focused art film, not an epic thrill-ride. This is a story that takes its time and reveals its beauty in its characters and in its language.
This is not a book about plot. The author ignores any sense of pacing. This is a book about people, both alive and dead, and ideas. It asks questions and hints at the answers.
If you're the kind of reader who can live with that, you're in for a treat. Beagle, even at age nineteen, has a way with language that makes me feel like a thick-thumbed toddler on my keyboard. The voice of his characters are so distinct and feel so real that you get a real sense of them. Yet at the same time the way they speak you feel these words should be spoken on the stage. (And that certainly makes sense, given the author's involvement in theater.) This story didn't grip me, but its quiet world of solitude and ghosts invited me back and I was happy to go.
My friend Miranda has a hobby of going into old cemeteries to photograph the elaborate graves, the mausoleums, and stone angels. Before reading this book I never quite understood what the draw was, and while I cannot speak for her, I suddenly find myself wanting to go with her one day and walk in this world.
Can you define life? Death? Love? Me either. And A Fine and Private Place doesn't do it either, but it definitely gives you a few things to think about.
April 14, 2011
Un loc plăcut şi numai al lor este primul roman scris de Peter Beagle, iar faptul că a devenit în scurt timp un clasic al genului fantasy contemporan este într-adevăr un lucru de apreciat, mai ales datorită faptului că Beagle a scris cartea la doar 19 ani.
Povestea începe cu un corb rău de gură, cel care aduce mâncare domnului Rebeck, un farmacist care trăieşte în acelaşi cimitir de aproape douăzeci de ani. Motivul pentru care se află aici este teama faţă de lumea celor vii. Singura companie a domnului Rebeck (cu excepţia corbului guraliv) sunt spiritele celor morţi, cu care converseaza înainte acestea să dispară pentru totdeauna, o dată ce uită cum era să fii viu. Două dintre acestea sunt stafiile Laurei şi a lui Michael, care se întâlnesc în cimitirul domnului Rebeck pentru a realiza ceva ce nu au reuşit să facă în timpul vieţii.
Ar mai fi şi doamna Klapper, văduva care se întâlneşte cu domnul Rebeck în drumul ei către mormântul soţului. Apariţia doamnei Klapper va da peste cap lumea ascunsă şi liniştită a domnului Rebeck.
Cele două perechi de personaje sunt văzute antitetic pe parcursul romanului, domnul Rebeck se ascunde de viaţă pe când doamna Klapper se teme de moarte, iar Michael şi Laura – deşi au avut amândoi parte de un sfârşit ciudat, privesc viaţa de apoi în moduri diferite: Michael încearcă cu disperare metode împotriva uitării trecutului, pe când Laura încearcă să părăsească mai repede lumea cimitirului. Dialogurile lor despre viaţă, despre lumea exterioară şi despre dragoste le vor demonstra că nu sunt atât de diferiţi pe cât par, prin trecutul lor, speranţele şi ambiţiile lor.
Peter Beagle face o treabă grozavă cu delimitarea şi conturarea personajelor. Naraţiunea se deschide lent, prin veştile lumii exterioare aduse de corb încetul cu încetul şi continuă prin interferenţele acestei lumi în viaţa domnului Rebeck. Chiar dacă este uneori tristă, povestea duce către un final optimist pentru ambele lumi. Povestea de dragoste este una originala faţă de orice altă poveste de dragoste (cel puţin din câte am citit). Dialogurile, deşi uşor artificiale pe alocuri, susţin câteva idei şi simboluri interesante despre viaţă şi despre relaţiile inter-umane. Corbul (al cărui umor negru îmi aminteşte de stilul lui Neil Gaiman) este mai mult decât o punte între lumea cimitirului şi cea exterioară. Este o legătură între lumea celor vii şi a celor trecuţi în nefiinţă. Este o punte între poveste şi cititor, întreaga istorie fiind parcă văzută prin ochii săi negri.
Povestea începe cu un corb rău de gură, cel care aduce mâncare domnului Rebeck, un farmacist care trăieşte în acelaşi cimitir de aproape douăzeci de ani. Motivul pentru care se află aici este teama faţă de lumea celor vii. Singura companie a domnului Rebeck (cu excepţia corbului guraliv) sunt spiritele celor morţi, cu care converseaza înainte acestea să dispară pentru totdeauna, o dată ce uită cum era să fii viu. Două dintre acestea sunt stafiile Laurei şi a lui Michael, care se întâlnesc în cimitirul domnului Rebeck pentru a realiza ceva ce nu au reuşit să facă în timpul vieţii.
Ar mai fi şi doamna Klapper, văduva care se întâlneşte cu domnul Rebeck în drumul ei către mormântul soţului. Apariţia doamnei Klapper va da peste cap lumea ascunsă şi liniştită a domnului Rebeck.
Cele două perechi de personaje sunt văzute antitetic pe parcursul romanului, domnul Rebeck se ascunde de viaţă pe când doamna Klapper se teme de moarte, iar Michael şi Laura – deşi au avut amândoi parte de un sfârşit ciudat, privesc viaţa de apoi în moduri diferite: Michael încearcă cu disperare metode împotriva uitării trecutului, pe când Laura încearcă să părăsească mai repede lumea cimitirului. Dialogurile lor despre viaţă, despre lumea exterioară şi despre dragoste le vor demonstra că nu sunt atât de diferiţi pe cât par, prin trecutul lor, speranţele şi ambiţiile lor.
Peter Beagle face o treabă grozavă cu delimitarea şi conturarea personajelor. Naraţiunea se deschide lent, prin veştile lumii exterioare aduse de corb încetul cu încetul şi continuă prin interferenţele acestei lumi în viaţa domnului Rebeck. Chiar dacă este uneori tristă, povestea duce către un final optimist pentru ambele lumi. Povestea de dragoste este una originala faţă de orice altă poveste de dragoste (cel puţin din câte am citit). Dialogurile, deşi uşor artificiale pe alocuri, susţin câteva idei şi simboluri interesante despre viaţă şi despre relaţiile inter-umane. Corbul (al cărui umor negru îmi aminteşte de stilul lui Neil Gaiman) este mai mult decât o punte între lumea cimitirului şi cea exterioară. Este o legătură între lumea celor vii şi a celor trecuţi în nefiinţă. Este o punte între poveste şi cititor, întreaga istorie fiind parcă văzută prin ochii săi negri.
October 21, 2010
This is a book that is more about "the experience" than about the story or a plot. This works sometimes, but not too often (for me at least. I see many truly did enjoy this book.). The only book that jumps to mind for me (that I actually enjoyed that is) that accomplished this would be, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I found A Fine and Private Place mostly rather tedious.
The book is an emotional little stroll through the "death" or possibly The "after life" of Michael Morgan and the other denizens of the cemetery where he was interred. There is a sad little story winding it's way through the volume, but mostly we get treated to the emotional travails and self discovery of Michael.
Not a book I enjoyed and I was just as glad to get to the end. I suppose that I may just not be the audience that Peter S. Beagle is aiming for as, while I wasn't left as cold by The Last Unicorn neither was I that taken with it. (And now that I think of it...I was much younger then).
So left me fairly cold, 2 stars.
The book is an emotional little stroll through the "death" or possibly The "after life" of Michael Morgan and the other denizens of the cemetery where he was interred. There is a sad little story winding it's way through the volume, but mostly we get treated to the emotional travails and self discovery of Michael.
Not a book I enjoyed and I was just as glad to get to the end. I suppose that I may just not be the audience that Peter S. Beagle is aiming for as, while I wasn't left as cold by The Last Unicorn neither was I that taken with it. (And now that I think of it...I was much younger then).
So left me fairly cold, 2 stars.
September 20, 2010
2 1/2 stars
It's impressive that Peter Beagle wrote his first novel at the age of nineteen. I'm sorry to say the story doesn't add up to much. He would have done well to indulge more in whimsy and skip the philosophical ramblings. I've read his sweet novel, The Last Unicorn, as well as his picaresque nonfiction book, I See By My Outfit. He has a special gift for the whimsical, and I'm glad he found his strength and stayed true to it in his later books.
In this book I liked the talking raven best of all, and I think he should have played a larger role. He wanted to be a hummingbird when he was a kid, and wept bitterly when he was told he'd always be a raven, never a hummingbird. That tickled my funny bone.
It's impressive that Peter Beagle wrote his first novel at the age of nineteen. I'm sorry to say the story doesn't add up to much. He would have done well to indulge more in whimsy and skip the philosophical ramblings. I've read his sweet novel, The Last Unicorn, as well as his picaresque nonfiction book, I See By My Outfit. He has a special gift for the whimsical, and I'm glad he found his strength and stayed true to it in his later books.
In this book I liked the talking raven best of all, and I think he should have played a larger role. He wanted to be a hummingbird when he was a kid, and wept bitterly when he was told he'd always be a raven, never a hummingbird. That tickled my funny bone.
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