Book Title:  An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England (fiction)

Author: Brock Clarke

Publishing Company:  Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill

Year:  2007

# of Pages: 303

ISBN #:  13:978-1-56512-551-3

$23.95 USA 

4 ˝ Stars 

Reviewer:  Deborah Ground Buckner 

An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England caught me with the title.  Inside is a sad little story told with wit and humor, making a book as satisfying as a favorite Chinese restaurant's sweet-and-sour offerings. 

As a young man, Sam Pulsifer, the narrator, accidentally burns down the Emily Dickinson House in Amherst, killing two people.  For his crime, he is sentenced to ten years in prison, serving with white-collar criminals, such as a gang of bond analysts who spend their time of incarceration writing their memoirs.  The bond analysts tell Sam he is a “bumbler,” and as Sam's story unfolds, he proves the accuracy of the label over and over again. 

After prison, he begins a new life, with college, a career as a packaging specialist (producing plastic bags and containers of all kinds), marries, has two children, and lives a typical suburban life in the outskirts of Amherst.  Then one day the son of the two people who died in the Emily Dickinson House fire pays a visit and sets in motion a chain of unbelievable events made believable by Sam's straightforward manner of relating them. 

Estranged from his wife, Sam reunites with his parents.  His father reveals a box of letters received while Sam was in prison, letters from people seeking Sam's help (and offering to pay for it) in burning down the houses of other great writers of New England.  Then, the houses begin burning.    

Following Sam from one smoldering house to another offers both a page-turning mystery and a poignant study in relationships as all the dysfunctions of Sam's family are revealed.  Along the way, Sam offers many insightful comments on life and relationships such as “it's easier and safer to think about the things we shouldn't than the things we should” and “drinking helps you forget the things you need to forget, at least for a little while, until you pass out and then wake up two hours later and vomit all over yourself and then the hallway and then the bathroom” and “How are we supposed to recognize our mistakes before they become mistakes?  Where is the book that can teach us that?” 

Ironically, this book of destruction of some of America's greatest literary treasures is also a celebration of them.  Over and over again, Sam explores the importance and impact of “the story” and the role books play in life.   

Brock Clarke has twice been a finalist for the National Magazine Award for fiction.  He is the author of The Ordinary White Boy; What We Won't Do; and Carrying the Torch.  He teaches creative writing at the University of Cincinnati.