The Pagan House

by David L. Flusfeder

The much-anticipated new novel from the acclaimed author of 'The Gift ' -- a blend of detective novel, historical fiction and the painful coming-of-age of a confused young boy. 'Edgar was neither hard-bitten nor hard-boiled. He hadn't seen too much -- he'd hardly seen anything at all -- and he was bursting, overflowing, with inaccessible juvenile potency. No one would suspect him of a dangerous agenda. But he could not drive a car. And he still needed permission to stay out past suppertime.' Edgar Pagan, nearly thirteen, detests his English mother's new boyfriend, so when she takes her son away from him across the Atlantic to spend time with his American father, it is a relief and a new adventure for him. He is an unlikely detective, Edgar, but that is what he becomes at the Pagan house, home to his grandmother Fay, and again some years later when he sets down on paper the Pagan past, in particular the peculiar circumstances of his father's ancestors in the nineteenth century, 'the story of how I came to be me.' 'The Pagan House', David Flusfeder's extraordinary new novel, is the story of how a family came to be established, of the extreme nineteenth-century Christian sect, the Perfectionists, utopians with a belief in free love, who built that family home. It is about the life and tragic death of Mary Pagan, the shaping force in this unusual family, and the impending death 150 years later of her descendent, Edgar's grandmother, and the consequent destiny of that house. With its blend of detective novel, historical fiction and the painful coming-of-age of a confused young boy in Edgar, Flusfeder brilliantly weaves these strands together with style and verve. 'Wise and a complete story and a very good one,' said Jonathan Franzen of Flusfeder's last book, 'the best book you'll give yourself all year,' said Will Self. With this new novel he has surpassed himself.

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Born in 1960.

Reviews

[Surymae · Rating 2 out of 5]

Il romanzo ha alcuni momenti di gloria, come qualche metafora interessante o qualche guizzo psicologico degno di nota, ma dall'effetto di un temporale estivo: la pioggia dura poco, ed il caldo torna più forte di prima. In questo caso, il caldo è rappresentato da tutti i difetti de "I perfezionisti". Le due trame - la crescita di Edgar e la setta dei Perfezionisti - non si amalgamano mai del tutto, ed anche prese singolarmente sono piuttosto deficitarie. La prima è la solita - perdonatemi il francesismo - ode alla masturbazione degli scrittori americani, che sembrano esserne quasi ossessionati. Molto interessante, soprattutto per una ragazza. Dico sul serio...
La seconda presenta una Mary Sue in tutto e per tutto, anche nel nome - mi riferisco ovviamente a Mary Pagan - ed una setta che si prende e viene presa fin troppo sul serio. Troppa ed ingiustificata l'influenza che causa sulle azioni dei personaggi.
L'introspezione psicologica per entrambe le parti è piuttosto carente, a tal punto che neanche il finale - che in altre circostanze mi sarebbe piaciuto, e non poco - fa effetto. Si poteva fare di meglio.

[Tendai · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay I found it boring after a while I was a little confused and I thought it was long winded, plus the young man its based around is a little strange? Of course I'm not a pubescent teenage boy so what do I know?

[Timothy Lindi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worst fucking book I've ever had the misfortune of reading. This filth should be considered CP.