An inmate’s confession

Blurb: Sam Pulsifier spent ten years in prison for accidentally burning down poet Emily Dickinson’s house- and unwittingly killing two people in the process. He emerged twenty eight years, got married and had two kids before his past caught up with him.
One by one, the homes of other famous New England writers are torched and Sam decided to play detective to prove his innocence.
What he discovers and how he deal with the reality of his discoveries, is…(at this point, for you to discover).

Reading this book was like listening to an inmate’s life story, he’s got nothing but time and so on and on he went.
However, at some point I expected boredom to creep in but the little devil decided to peek in from outside the window that’s my concentration!
It’s my first time to read a book by Brook Clarke and I was drawn to it by the title. I was curious to know who would want to burn Writer’s homes and why.

The story is told by Sam. He comes off as witty, messed up, a jerk and sometimes he makes sense.

The pace is slow, and builds up in the last two chapters but it creates room for Sam to understand the other people in his life. For the years that he has been locked up, he comes to realize that his parents have secrets, and his wife and neighbors can’t seem to stand him. His neighbors don’t want him around and just when it seems as though all can be salvaged, someone attempts to burn other people’s houses.
He makes fun of it at some point which makes this bearable.

This book is interesting because of the turn of events. You would find Sam unbearable because he doesn’t seem to understand how the people around him feel (especially his mother!) You would also see his flaws( he is quick to act, doesn’t listen much, lies) but you would accept him as he is because he does not try to be anything but a man wading through life.

It would also be best to let you know a thing or two about mumbling, so that if it ain’t your cup of tea then maybe you’d find yourself setting this book aside for a day or two.

You can visit the author’s website: here