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Preservation Hall
Virgil and Tracy Morgan, whose inordinately happy marriage is troubled only by Virgil's madcap, embarrassing father, Earl, finally buy their Maine dream house and fall victims to the panic chaos, and disintegration provoked by Earl's hunted, fugitive stepson
273 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1976
5 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
About the author
Scott Spencer
15 books253 followersScott Spencer (b. 1945) is the critically acclaimed, bestselling author of ten novels, including Endless Love and A Ship Made of Paper, both of which have been nominated for the National Book Award. Two of his books, Endless Love and Waking the Dead, have been adapted into films.
He has taught at Columbia University, the University of Iowa, and Williams College, and Bard College's Bard Prison Initiative. Spencer is an alumnus of Roosevelt University. In 2004, he was the recipient of a John S. Guggenheim Fellowship. For the past twenty years, he has lived in a small town in upstate New York.
Spencer has also worked as a journalist. He has published in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, GQ, O, The Oprah Magazine, and he is a regular contributor to Rolling Stone.
He has taught at Columbia University, the University of Iowa, and Williams College, and Bard College's Bard Prison Initiative. Spencer is an alumnus of Roosevelt University. In 2004, he was the recipient of a John S. Guggenheim Fellowship. For the past twenty years, he has lived in a small town in upstate New York.
Spencer has also worked as a journalist. He has published in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, GQ, O, The Oprah Magazine, and he is a regular contributor to Rolling Stone.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 6, 2014
Meet Virgil Morgan, a young man in his late twenties who, to the world at large, seems to have all the earmarks of success: a luxurious apartment, a consultant job that pays extremely well and takes surprisingly little energy, and an idyllic marriage to a beautiful and creative woman named Tracy.
Meet Virgil's father Earl Morgan, a one-time high school music teacher who has always dreamed of greatness even as he hurtles towards oblivion. A hapless man who watches his wife pack a suitcase and leave him for good, who refuses to give up his beret and goatee. Yes, Virgil has always had a precarious relationship with his father; seeing Earl as an embarrassment - forever a source of gut-wrenching failure for Virgil, a man who wallows in his myriad personal failings too often and too well.
Virgil has done his best to stay away from Earl, and for most of his life that has worked quite well for him. When he and Tracy purchase their dream house in Maine, a cozy cottage they christen 'Preservation Hall', it looks as if he'll succeed - until a long-awaited romantic interlude is invaded by an unwanted visitor, and a sudden blizzard sets the stage for a terrifying week; forcing Virgil to confront the long-repressed ghosts from his past.
I must say that I absolutely loved this book. This is actually the second book that I've read by Scott Spencer and in my opinion, this story was fast-paced and very exciting. The characters were well-developed and sympathetically drawn, and the ones that were meant to be likable I liked very much. I give this book an A+!
Meet Virgil's father Earl Morgan, a one-time high school music teacher who has always dreamed of greatness even as he hurtles towards oblivion. A hapless man who watches his wife pack a suitcase and leave him for good, who refuses to give up his beret and goatee. Yes, Virgil has always had a precarious relationship with his father; seeing Earl as an embarrassment - forever a source of gut-wrenching failure for Virgil, a man who wallows in his myriad personal failings too often and too well.
Virgil has done his best to stay away from Earl, and for most of his life that has worked quite well for him. When he and Tracy purchase their dream house in Maine, a cozy cottage they christen 'Preservation Hall', it looks as if he'll succeed - until a long-awaited romantic interlude is invaded by an unwanted visitor, and a sudden blizzard sets the stage for a terrifying week; forcing Virgil to confront the long-repressed ghosts from his past.
I must say that I absolutely loved this book. This is actually the second book that I've read by Scott Spencer and in my opinion, this story was fast-paced and very exciting. The characters were well-developed and sympathetically drawn, and the ones that were meant to be likable I liked very much. I give this book an A+!
October 15, 2018
One of Spencer's earlier works. The flashes of brilliance are evident: elegant and simple prose, taut and suspenseful story, portrayals of ordinary people caught in crazy moments that change their lives.
But this novel isn't the fully bright brilliance of later works like Endless Love, Ship Made of Paper, and Man in the Woods. Still, I enjoyed Preservation Hall.
But this novel isn't the fully bright brilliance of later works like Endless Love, Ship Made of Paper, and Man in the Woods. Still, I enjoyed Preservation Hall.
July 27, 2007
I picked up this book because I wanted to read a different Scott Spencer book. (I wanted to read The Rich Man's Table which is about the son of a rock star a la bob dylan. The library didn't have that book so I picked up this one.)
The beginning was promising--the main character is raised by his eccentric father. He grows up feeling resentful of his father and of his failure to be a success. The son's compulsion to be successful and his contempt for his father leads to the murder of his new step-brother.
I never liked one of the characters and i never cared about what happened to any of them. I finished the book because it was there. The main character was not only unlikeable but lacked dimension--maybe this was part of the story though in that he is supposed to be one-dimensional and lives on the surface.
What I learned from reading this book: I don't know if i want to read anymore scott spencer.
The beginning was promising--the main character is raised by his eccentric father. He grows up feeling resentful of his father and of his failure to be a success. The son's compulsion to be successful and his contempt for his father leads to the murder of his new step-brother.
I never liked one of the characters and i never cared about what happened to any of them. I finished the book because it was there. The main character was not only unlikeable but lacked dimension--maybe this was part of the story though in that he is supposed to be one-dimensional and lives on the surface.
What I learned from reading this book: I don't know if i want to read anymore scott spencer.
September 14, 2012
I'm taken in by Virgil's relationship with his father, his seemingly ideal marriage, and by the relentless, palpable feeling that something is going to bring it all down.
Scott Spencer is in no hurry to tell the story and be done with it. He's given it a lot of thought -- at times it seems too much thought and too much stretching the metaphor. But, he wants to tell the truth in all it's detail, and when it works it works very well. Preservation Hall is a book that you can just let take it's time with you -- sometimes just for the sheer enjoyment of it -- and sometimes just for the truth of it.
Scott Spencer is in no hurry to tell the story and be done with it. He's given it a lot of thought -- at times it seems too much thought and too much stretching the metaphor. But, he wants to tell the truth in all it's detail, and when it works it works very well. Preservation Hall is a book that you can just let take it's time with you -- sometimes just for the sheer enjoyment of it -- and sometimes just for the truth of it.
July 28, 2011
Certainly worth reading, but not as good as the other stuff of his that I've read.
February 7, 2013
Dark but well written.
August 16, 2016
I have long felt that this is a perfect novel.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews