An Arsonist’s Guide to Houses in New England: A Novel

Brock Clarke

Text Publishing 2007

Reviewer: Bob Estreich

I, Sam Pulsifer, would like you to know that I take full responsibility for burning down the home of Emily Dickinson. However, I cannot take credit for the other literary blazes that were inspired by mine. At least, I don't think I can."

Sam Pulsifer is a self-described bumbler – he bumbles unemotionally through his life, which he inadvertently manages to make a mess of. In his youth he accidentally set fire to a famous writer’s historic house, which had two people inside at the time. Noone believed he could have done it accidentally, so he served time in jail for it. Now he is out, and happily married and settled down. His past, naturally, catches up with him.

There are other people who would like Sam to return to his old ways. New England has many famous writers’ houses, and they start to catch fire. Sam, of course, is believed to be the culprit. As he bumbles his way through the story he finds that there are many reasons people would want him to burn down writers’ houses, not least that they feel inferior to the writers’ characters. But if it’s not Sam burning down the houses, who is?

The book is a story about the power of stories. It is hard to feel much sympathy for Sam, as he simply bumbles along to a surprising conclusion, but the reader is carried along with him as much by curiosity as sympathy. We learn more about each of the characters as the story progresses, and it’s not always pleasant. Even so, it is hard to dislike any character, even the (slightly) evil son of the couple who burnt to death in the first fire. Many of them seem to be bumbling along their own storyline as well, in a form of sly humour that keeps popping up throughout the book.

Although reviewers have rated it as wildly funny, I can’t put it as strongly as this. It’s not gag-a-minute stuff. The humour is there, but it’s subtle and builds up to an overall impression. Nevertheless it carries the story along well, and the book doesn’t become boring.

I enjoyed it, and I recommend it as a good book for a reader who can handle something more subtle.