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American Ghost
An inventive metafictional novel, in which a drug-dealing biker must solve his own murder from beyond the grave.
Thumb Rivera is in a bind. A college dropout, aspiring writer, smalltime marijuana grower, and biker club hang-around, Thumb finds himself confined to his rural ranch house in the desolate Maine countryside, helpless to do anything but watch as his former friends and housemates scheme behind his back, conspire to steal his girlfriend, and make inroads with the Blood Eagles, a dangerous biker gang.
Thumb is also dead.
A ghost forced to haunt his survivors and reflect back on the circumstances that led to his unsolved murder, Thumb discovers he has one channel through which he can communicate with the living world: Ben, an unemployed ghost hunter. Ben soon convinces local curmudgeon Fred Muttkowski, failed novelist turned pig farmer, to turn Ben’s Ouija-board conversations with Thumb into an actual book.
Thumb has two things on his mind: To solve, and then avenge, the mystery of his own violent death, and also to tell his story. That story is American Ghost—as told to Ben, then fictionalized by Fred. It's at once a clever tale of the afterlife, a poignant examination of the ephemeral nature of life, and a celebration of writing and the written word.
Thumb Rivera is in a bind. A college dropout, aspiring writer, smalltime marijuana grower, and biker club hang-around, Thumb finds himself confined to his rural ranch house in the desolate Maine countryside, helpless to do anything but watch as his former friends and housemates scheme behind his back, conspire to steal his girlfriend, and make inroads with the Blood Eagles, a dangerous biker gang.
Thumb is also dead.
A ghost forced to haunt his survivors and reflect back on the circumstances that led to his unsolved murder, Thumb discovers he has one channel through which he can communicate with the living world: Ben, an unemployed ghost hunter. Ben soon convinces local curmudgeon Fred Muttkowski, failed novelist turned pig farmer, to turn Ben’s Ouija-board conversations with Thumb into an actual book.
Thumb has two things on his mind: To solve, and then avenge, the mystery of his own violent death, and also to tell his story. That story is American Ghost—as told to Ben, then fictionalized by Fred. It's at once a clever tale of the afterlife, a poignant examination of the ephemeral nature of life, and a celebration of writing and the written word.
- GenresFictionHorrorParanormal
296 pages, Hardcover
First published August 8, 2017
20 people are currently reading
547 people want to read
About the author
Paul Guernsey
15 books28 followersPaul Guernsey's third and most recent novel is "American Ghost," which was published in August, 2017. From his haunted farmhouse in rural Maine, Paul edits and publishes The Ghost Story: Ghost Stories in Literature, Folklore, and Contemporary Culture (http://www.TheGhostStory.com), and administers a pair of international short story contests called The Ghost Story Supernatural Fiction Award (biannual) and The Screw Turn Flash Fiction Competition. In addition to his novels—which include “Unhallowed Ground,” runner-up for a PEN/Nelson Algren Fiction Award, and "Angel Falls"—he has written extensively on the outdoors, especially on the sport of fly-fishing. His nonfiction book on fly-fishing, "Beyond Catch & Release: Exploring the Future of Fly Fishing," was published in 2011. Paul also has held just about every kind of writing job imaginable, including newspaper reporter, magazine editor, travel journalist, and foreign correspondent. He currently teaches writing at Unity College: “America’s Environmental College.”
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 23, 2017
Ultimately this is a novel about moving on, but the lead character Thumb has a tough time moving on seeing as he is already dead. Sure the have the dead person/ghost search for their own killer plot has been done to death (no pun intended) but this version was a little quirkier than others.
Before his untimely death at the age of 22 Thumb was a world class weed grower who chose to get involved with a murderous biker gang. Throw in a love triangle, weird housemates, and an ego the size of New York City and you've got this book. The reader could have done without knowing that Thumb could take any ghost form he liked and yet opted to only inflate his manhood which is pretty useless to a ghost.
It was a bit confusing that Thumb was narrating his own story to downtrodden pseudo medium Ben via first a ouija board then automatic writing but then the story was passed on to another "writer" for cleaning up. Since the ending leaves a lot to be desired the reader never fully gets the whole story of what happened to Thumb's book in the end. Fred was a good character and deserved more development here.
In the end I felt this story could have been edited into a better package. All of the elements were there for a good story but put together it felt a bit disjointed. Overall I liked it so leaving 3 stars.
(I really dislike being the first reviewer)
Before his untimely death at the age of 22 Thumb was a world class weed grower who chose to get involved with a murderous biker gang. Throw in a love triangle, weird housemates, and an ego the size of New York City and you've got this book. The reader could have done without knowing that Thumb could take any ghost form he liked and yet opted to only inflate his manhood which is pretty useless to a ghost.
It was a bit confusing that Thumb was narrating his own story to downtrodden pseudo medium Ben via first a ouija board then automatic writing but then the story was passed on to another "writer" for cleaning up. Since the ending leaves a lot to be desired the reader never fully gets the whole story of what happened to Thumb's book in the end. Fred was a good character and deserved more development here.
In the end I felt this story could have been edited into a better package. All of the elements were there for a good story but put together it felt a bit disjointed. Overall I liked it so leaving 3 stars.
(I really dislike being the first reviewer)
December 10, 2017
A murder-mystery written as a memoir through two individuals. That's how I would summarize this novel. I am not really into mystery books, or crime as I would describe this book.
Almost each character was introduced with a nickname, which when described, explained to you the character and how the nickname reflect their personality. At least the book goes on with time, not making it a few days only to solve his death, but basically years.
Thumb is an interesting ghost. Conflicted by certain actions before his death, he was known for being an exceptional weed cultivator, an aspiring novelist with a "love triangle". I felt his dog, Tigre, was somewhat important as to keeping his "humanity" early in the book, but was quickly faded out and forgotten and only mentioned by name. Dirt is one angry person... seriously. Some grudge to hold right?
I did try to guess who the murderer was from the start. I got it right, and I am happy the author didn't reveal it until the end basically. Or else this would have ended up being a pretty bad book in my opinion.
Ghost sacrifice = Felt weird.
Ending with the Blood Eagles = I need to think about it a bit more.
All in all, the book closed off any questions, not leaving you with any unsolved business.
Almost each character was introduced with a nickname, which when described, explained to you the character and how the nickname reflect their personality. At least the book goes on with time, not making it a few days only to solve his death, but basically years.
Thumb is an interesting ghost. Conflicted by certain actions before his death, he was known for being an exceptional weed cultivator, an aspiring novelist with a "love triangle". I felt his dog, Tigre, was somewhat important as to keeping his "humanity" early in the book, but was quickly faded out and forgotten and only mentioned by name. Dirt is one angry person... seriously. Some grudge to hold right?
I did try to guess who the murderer was from the start. I got it right, and I am happy the author didn't reveal it until the end basically. Or else this would have ended up being a pretty bad book in my opinion.
Ghost sacrifice = Felt weird.
Ending with the Blood Eagles = I need to think about it a bit more.
All in all, the book closed off any questions, not leaving you with any unsolved business.
September 18, 2017
This is a pretty good story about a man who is killed and watches his "friends" as a ghost. The depiction of the underworld is different and unusual. Thumb has discovered he can dictate his life through a Quija board to a Ben who is an inspiring author and ghost hunter. With the help of a ghost friend, Thumb gets revenge on his killer and saves the life. The story moves well and is move a review of one's deeds and seeking redemption.
November 30, 2017
Very much liked reading this ghost story/murder mystery! I always love to read author's takes on what happens after you die, so it was nice to see Thumb figure out the limitations and abilities that come with being an ethereal entity. I did guess who Thumb's murderer was pretty early on, but it was still fun to find out the whys and hows. Overall, very quirky and entertaining book that wrapped up very nicely in the end!
November 2, 2017
3.75 stars
I won this in a Friday freebie from the publisher. This book was really good, funny, and kinda like a murder mystery trying to find out who killed Thumb (the now ghost) the ending is where I felt it lacked. I was just ehh but not a bad ending just not how i expected it to go.
I won this in a Friday freebie from the publisher. This book was really good, funny, and kinda like a murder mystery trying to find out who killed Thumb (the now ghost) the ending is where I felt it lacked. I was just ehh but not a bad ending just not how i expected it to go.
December 10, 2018
Unique fantasy
I highly recommended this for those who enjoy Neil Gaiman although the writing style is more Y A. A young murder victim haunts his former home looking for answers. Told in the first person which is a plus.
I highly recommended this for those who enjoy Neil Gaiman although the writing style is more Y A. A young murder victim haunts his former home looking for answers. Told in the first person which is a plus.
March 28, 2019
Well written and enjoyable
The writing was solid if not particularly prosaic. The author accomplished a noir mystery feel ghost written....well, by a ghost. Not my usual fare but I enjoyed it well enough.
The writing was solid if not particularly prosaic. The author accomplished a noir mystery feel ghost written....well, by a ghost. Not my usual fare but I enjoyed it well enough.
October 4, 2017
American Ghost has everything from murder mystery to the supernatural. Great storytelling.
October 7, 2017
I kind of hated this, honestly.
January 9, 2018
I really enjoyed this book
April 26, 2018
Very unusual and kind of a fun book to read. Recommend!
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October 5, 2021Great read. Beautifully written!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews