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The Confetti Man
Morrow Burgess is as American as Hartford, Connecticut, lovely, talented, her family respectable New Englanders, Mayflower stock. Why then does Morrow rob graves for a living? And why did she make off with Jonas Salter's pornography collection in a van truck?
Her parents, Grace and Chester Burgess, are typical doting parents. Why then did Morrow bite her mother? And what is Chester building in the back yard, a sarcophagus? If the whole Burgess clan is so respectable, why did Morrow and her parents have to be chased away from Gramma's funeral with a gun?
Don't you believe for a minute that the Burgesses are cursed. Take Euripedes Faversham Burgess, lawgiver, fondly referred to as Rip. He was interred in the family tomb a century ago. They just can't help speaking of him as if he were alive, can they?
Moreover, why did the potential successor to the Kennedys, wealthy, ambitious Vin Plowman, put aside his own career in order to make Morrow Burgess a super celebrity in the world of fashion design and art? And why did he, like the Burgesses, suddenly begin to flake?
And his parents, Nat and Vicky Plowman...he owns half of Connecticut and she knows half of Connecticut. Why did they gift their son and that Burgess girl with that strange house resembling the Burgess tomb as a wedding gift? Why all those rumors about the young couple? Why does Morrow need all those pills? Why separate bedrooms? Where does Vin go every night.
Why would a girl who cannot swim throw herself into the St. Lawrence to escape her husband?
Why would she walk halfway through Connecticut with a stray dog and carrying newborn kittens, running from that husband, to save her life?
Why is there always a taxi waiting for Morrow?
And is life real? Or is it a dream.
Her parents, Grace and Chester Burgess, are typical doting parents. Why then did Morrow bite her mother? And what is Chester building in the back yard, a sarcophagus? If the whole Burgess clan is so respectable, why did Morrow and her parents have to be chased away from Gramma's funeral with a gun?
Don't you believe for a minute that the Burgesses are cursed. Take Euripedes Faversham Burgess, lawgiver, fondly referred to as Rip. He was interred in the family tomb a century ago. They just can't help speaking of him as if he were alive, can they?
Moreover, why did the potential successor to the Kennedys, wealthy, ambitious Vin Plowman, put aside his own career in order to make Morrow Burgess a super celebrity in the world of fashion design and art? And why did he, like the Burgesses, suddenly begin to flake?
And his parents, Nat and Vicky Plowman...he owns half of Connecticut and she knows half of Connecticut. Why did they gift their son and that Burgess girl with that strange house resembling the Burgess tomb as a wedding gift? Why all those rumors about the young couple? Why does Morrow need all those pills? Why separate bedrooms? Where does Vin go every night.
Why would a girl who cannot swim throw herself into the St. Lawrence to escape her husband?
Why would she walk halfway through Connecticut with a stray dog and carrying newborn kittens, running from that husband, to save her life?
Why is there always a taxi waiting for Morrow?
And is life real? Or is it a dream.
448 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 11, 2024
One of the great things about ebook technology is a lot of old favorites are coming back to life now that they can be easily made available. This is one of those. This book obsessed my best friend back in high school and he insisted I read it and then pummeled me with questions on what I thought had happened (the ending is very unresolved).
Originally published in 1975, the book has a decided 1960s flavor to it. Our heroine, Morrow, becomes an overnight art sensation carefully crafted by her future husband, Alvin, and scheming mother-in-law, Vicki. The art scene, the drug vibe, the clothes, and the vibe is decidedly a psychedelic 60s, although the curated genius of Morrow's art work and how she is exploited could be something seen in the reality TV, and social media influencers of today.
There is also a slight tang of Shirley Jackson and Edgar Allan Poe here with the emphasis on the family crypt (which must be huge if it has so many ancestors in it PLUS empty slots for the future ones), the house that is built to mimic the tomb, and the family lore/curse that hangs over the Burgess family. The story is strongest when it plays to the Burgess family story and Morrow growing up.
Even after all this time I found the book still interesting. Morrow's OCD and compulsive hoarding is something we can all recognize here so having a sympathetic first person POV, neurodivergent character in a book published almost 50 years ago is really fascinating.
The problem starts in the middle of the book when Alvin's control of Morrow becomes obvious to everyone except our drug-addled heroine. It's takes way too long before Morrow realizes that her childhood crush is merely a sociopath (just as Nat, her father-in-law warned her). The abusive relationship starts out the first time they meet as adults, and with what we know today of these types of relationships, you just want to slap Morrow and wake her up from her dream. I mean, damn girl, he tries to rape you when you first meet!
I'd also like to note for those who do read the book, that in my mind I definitely will go with Alvin and Robards having a relationship despite his later denial to Morrow. The added on "oh he has blackmail on my dying mum" bit is rather lame, while the idea the two have a very warped sexual relationship seems far more realistic.
Speaking of which, Alvin (or Vin, as Morrow calls him), has a Madonna-Whore complex that is way overdone. Unlike Morrow's hoarding and perfectionistic mental health issues, Vin's aggression towards Morrow that is abusive, leaves a bad taste in the reader's mouth. We really needed to see him punished, especially by the end of the book for all that he has done.
Let's count Vin's sins: . We needed to see retribution and we never got it. That's the reason for the lack of stars.
The ending goes into a fantasy land of Morrow walking MILES across Connecticut (so not likely), rescuing kittens and a dog, happens to bump into Vin who is hunting her, gets attacked by a dog, fixed by a country doc, and goes in and out of visiting every character mentioned in the book. And don't get me started on her friend-mentor who ends up being stuffed by some weird relation aka Norman Bates style. That was so silly that by this time you are just wanting to get to the end of the book and be done with it.
A great bit of nostalgia, and I could definitely see this being produced into a short mini-series if you took out the ending. The horror bits are well done and it's not unusual for that type of book to end with a question mark, but the lack of justice, and the long winding end which amounts to no real explanation of the non-ghostly/curse part can't be excused.
Originally published in 1975, the book has a decided 1960s flavor to it. Our heroine, Morrow, becomes an overnight art sensation carefully crafted by her future husband, Alvin, and scheming mother-in-law, Vicki. The art scene, the drug vibe, the clothes, and the vibe is decidedly a psychedelic 60s, although the curated genius of Morrow's art work and how she is exploited could be something seen in the reality TV, and social media influencers of today.
There is also a slight tang of Shirley Jackson and Edgar Allan Poe here with the emphasis on the family crypt (which must be huge if it has so many ancestors in it PLUS empty slots for the future ones), the house that is built to mimic the tomb, and the family lore/curse that hangs over the Burgess family. The story is strongest when it plays to the Burgess family story and Morrow growing up.
Even after all this time I found the book still interesting. Morrow's OCD and compulsive hoarding is something we can all recognize here so having a sympathetic first person POV, neurodivergent character in a book published almost 50 years ago is really fascinating.
The problem starts in the middle of the book when Alvin's control of Morrow becomes obvious to everyone except our drug-addled heroine. It's takes way too long before Morrow realizes that her childhood crush is merely a sociopath (just as Nat, her father-in-law warned her). The abusive relationship starts out the first time they meet as adults, and with what we know today of these types of relationships, you just want to slap Morrow and wake her up from her dream. I mean, damn girl, he tries to rape you when you first meet!
I'd also like to note for those who do read the book, that in my mind I definitely will go with Alvin and Robards having a relationship despite his later denial to Morrow. The added on "oh he has blackmail on my dying mum" bit is rather lame, while the idea the two have a very warped sexual relationship seems far more realistic.
Speaking of which, Alvin (or Vin, as Morrow calls him), has a Madonna-Whore complex that is way overdone. Unlike Morrow's hoarding and perfectionistic mental health issues, Vin's aggression towards Morrow that is abusive, leaves a bad taste in the reader's mouth. We really needed to see him punished, especially by the end of the book for all that he has done.
Let's count Vin's sins: . We needed to see retribution and we never got it. That's the reason for the lack of stars.
The ending goes into a fantasy land of Morrow walking MILES across Connecticut (so not likely), rescuing kittens and a dog, happens to bump into Vin who is hunting her, gets attacked by a dog, fixed by a country doc, and goes in and out of visiting every character mentioned in the book. And don't get me started on her friend-mentor who ends up being stuffed by some weird relation aka Norman Bates style. That was so silly that by this time you are just wanting to get to the end of the book and be done with it.
A great bit of nostalgia, and I could definitely see this being produced into a short mini-series if you took out the ending. The horror bits are well done and it's not unusual for that type of book to end with a question mark, but the lack of justice, and the long winding end which amounts to no real explanation of the non-ghostly/curse part can't be excused.
August 14, 2013
I might have to sleep on this (where surely I will be more lucid) before I know whether I liked it or not. My waking self is shockingly disappointed with the ending, though somewhat in awe of Reynolds imagination as well as Morrow's odyssey. ;-) More, later.
I had a terrifying dream the night I finished this book - much like the dreams described in the book. Does that mean Jones's descriptions triggered my nightmare? I doubt it.
I was intrigued (and a little put off, too) when I started reading. But as the book went on, it started to become tedious - particularly when Morrow was on the run. I had a hard time believing she had the skills or the stamina to travel the distance, sleep in the wild, injured and all.
I think the ending is a "cop-out" (70's term that seems to fit). Rescued by a new character, introduced late in the book.
Redeeming qualities: Morrow learns, as many of us should, that she doesn't really have to keep every scrap of paper relating to her family!
I had a terrifying dream the night I finished this book - much like the dreams described in the book. Does that mean Jones's descriptions triggered my nightmare? I doubt it.
I was intrigued (and a little put off, too) when I started reading. But as the book went on, it started to become tedious - particularly when Morrow was on the run. I had a hard time believing she had the skills or the stamina to travel the distance, sleep in the wild, injured and all.
I think the ending is a "cop-out" (70's term that seems to fit). Rescued by a new character, introduced late in the book.
Redeeming qualities: Morrow learns, as many of us should, that she doesn't really have to keep every scrap of paper relating to her family!
January 21, 2013
Weird. Really weird.
March 23, 2021
This whole book was just confusing and the ending was less than satisfying.
October 27, 2025
Read this book many years ago and I still think it's one the strangest stories I've ever read, especially the ending. Was it a dream or was it real?
August 5, 2017
I read this book as a teenager, and wow, this one was weird and wonderful. Gothic chick-lit
June 22, 2012
I'm not sure what it is about this book that made me love it so much. Part ghost story, part drama/thriller... The story spins out of control until you don't even know what's real or not. I still don't know what happens at the end, not for lack of reading it.
June 15, 2013
I read this book straight thru the nite, could not put it down.
May 30, 2014
I don’t know why, I really like this book!!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews