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Oct 27, 2015lukasevansherman rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
Canadian-born, Portland-based novelist Patrick DeWitt received much acclaim for his peculiar, darkly comic take on the western, "The Sisters Brothers," which was short-listed for the Booker. His new book is also something of an idiosyncratic novel, in this case a mix of the Gothic novel, family mystery, and folktale. There are castles, Barons, dukes, a man named Lucy, and a chapter called "Klara the Beguiler." It's all very clever without being especially good or interesting. In the acknowledgements, he cites the post-modern folktales of Italo Calvino as an influence, but he's hardly at that level. It feels more like a parody than a homage, with bits of Kafka, Dinesen, and English Gothic novelists (Walpole, Lewis, Radcliffe) floating about. It's a fast read, but it also shows how difficult this kind of story is for a more "literary" writer.