The Perfect Title

It was time to stock up on some new books at the library the other day. One of them was on the library's front page, listed as recommended reading. I don't normally pay that much attention to the library's recommendations, but this book leaped out at me. How could it not? The title is An Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New England, printed on a flame red background. That has to be one of greatest titles I have ever seen. According to the Publisher's Weekly review (which I also usually take with a grain of salt), they think (lifted from Amazon):

Clarke's fourth book (after the story collection Carrying the Torch) is the delightfully dark story of Sam Pulsifer, the accidental arsonist and murderer narrator who leads readers through a multilayered, flame-filled adventure about literature, lies, love and life. Growing up in Amherst, Mass., with an editor for a father and an English teacher for a mother, Sam was fed endless stories that fueled (literally and figuratively) the rest of his life. Thus, the blurred boundaries between fact and fiction, story and reality become the landscape for amusing and provocative adventures that begin when, at age 18, Sam accidentally torches the Emily Dickinson Homestead, killing two people. After serving 10 years, Sam tries to distance himself from his past through college, employment, marriage and fatherhood, but he eventually winds up back in his parents' home, separated from his wife and jobless. When more literary landmarks go up in flames, Sam is the likely suspect, and his determination to find the actual arsonist uncovers family secrets and more than a bit about human nature. Sam is equal parts fall guy and tour guide in this bighearted and wily jolt to the American literary legacy.

I've just started reading it...only about 10 pages in, so I can't really say how well it lives up to the review. So far, the ten pages I've read have been a treat. Other reviews mention the novel's darker aspects, disguised as humor. That seems to be a given, considering the topic.

And the book's back dust jacket leaf says this:

In the league of such contemporary classics as A Confederation of Dunces, Catch-22, Little Big Man, and The World According to Garp, An Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New England is an original and exciting work -- a novel disguised as a memoir; a mystery that cloaks itself in humor; an artful piece of literature that bites the hand that breeds it. A heartbreaking story about truth and honesty and the damage they do, it's above all a massive piece of entertainment that will make you think and make you care."

Well. After all that, it had better be good. Although, even if it turns out not to be all that and more, just seeing the book sitting on my end table is worth it. Makes me laugh every time I look at it. What a wonderfully subversive title.