An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England by Brock Clarke

An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England

Brock Clarke

Written in the style of a satirical ‘How to…’ guide, this story meanders with you along the twisting path of calamity that is the life of Sam Pulsifer. Set to the ever changing seasons of New England this absurd reconstruction of one man’s life will keep you entertained and wanting more. N.B. No writer’s homes were damaged in the composition of this book.

Extract
Anyway, I moved on to the memoir section. After browsing for a while, I knew why it had to be so big; who knew there was so much truth to be told, so much advice to give, so many lessons to teach and learn? Who knew that there were so many people with so many necessary things to say about themselves? I flipped through the sexual abuse memoirs, sexual conquest memoirs, sexual inadequacy memoirs, alternative sexual memoirs. I perused travel memoirs, ghostwritten professional athletic memoirs, remorseful hedonist rock star memoirs, twelve step memoirs, memoirs about reading (A Reading Life: Book by Book)…. All of this made me feel better about myself, and I was grateful to the books for teaching me – without my even having to read them – that there were people in the world more desperate, more self-absorbed, more boring than I was.
Parallels
  • The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal by Sean Dixon
  • The Basic Eight by Daniel Handler
  • Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins