Layman's Report

by Eugene Marten

All of the ovens have multiple retorts. They are of an older design. They are constructed of red brick and mortar, and lined with a refractory brick. Some are blowered, though none utilize direct combustion. None have afterburners, and all are coke-fired except for one facility no longer extant. It should be noted that unless specifically designed for a greater bone-to-flesh-to-heat ratio, the retort may not consume the material assigned to it. It should also be noted that the odor issuing from a tannery or ironworks has sometimes been compared to that of burning flesh.

Inspired by the life of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr., subject of the Errol Morris documentary, Mr. Death, Layman's Report concerns an ordinary man who repairs office copiers, invents the lethal injection machine and corners the capital punishment market, becomes involved in the Holocaust denial movement—with dire consequences—and winds up exiled to obscurity, working on mysterious projects in a suburban garage. (Still, he manages to find a version of love.)

After Okinawa, after the Divine Wind, after Fat Man and Little Boy Fred Sr. delivered the mail. Instead of raining liquid fire and hand grenades down on Japs hiding in underground caves and tunnels, he started his day sorting and casing and bundling, then finished it delivering to some three hundred recipients out of a leather satchel that weighed almost as much as his field pack.

Eugene Marten is the author of Waste, In the Blind, and Firework. He resides in South Dakota.

Genres: Historical Fiction

416 pages, Paperback

Published August 13, 2024

About the author

Eugene Marten lives in New Mexico. He is also the author of the novels In The Blind (Turtle Point), Waste (Ellipsis), and Firework (Tyrant Books).

Reviews

[Babak]

My blurb for the new edition

Layman’s Report is a propulsive and dazzling novel—Eugene Marten’s sculpted sentences captivate with their cadence and striking imagery. Fred Junior, an eccentric inventor of death devices turned Holocaust denier and victim of his own vanity, is one of the most enigmatic characters I have encountered in contemporary fiction.

[Thomas B]

Really an odd book! I believe I saw a review of this in the NYTimes a few weeks ago and thought it sounded interesting, but forgot everything about it except the name. I picked it up in my local bookstore’s summer sale based on that and the cover art, which makes it look like a spec-fic. Needless to say the first 50 pages were pretty unexpected.

Parts read like a fever dream. I had no concept that this was based on / inspired by / referencing a real person until about halfway through. Not sure what to think of that.

In some ways it reminds me a lot of Stoner, in that it follows a person who is sort of stumbling through his life. This character is less endearing.

I enjoyed the writing. I might have more to say on this after I let it digest.

[David Rice]

Exquisitely written, with a keen eye for the strangeness of human interactions and a weirdly funny, almost surreal ear for dialogue. The grand scope of the narrative is enthralling and engaging, even if something about it ultimately feels unfinished or unfocused. A memorable book, to say the least.

[pk]

he was really at McDonald’s

[pae (marginhermit)]

No, Leuchter, no. It's not OK to gass people to death.

[Darryl C.]

The opening sequence was great.

Maybe the disjointed, frenetic pace is Fred. Quite the ride.

Was that Jim Dolly?

[Hal]

So well written. If only the main character could instill a shred of sympathy. I liked the end.