Castle

Starred review from January 26, 2009
From Graywolf: two April books by J. Robert Lennon.
Castle
J. Robert Lennon
. Graywolf
, $22 (224p) ISBN 978-1-55597-522-7

Do not be fooled by the dull narrator of this latest novel from Lennon (Mailman
); the author methodically baits readers with mystery and the macabre until the hook is set and then yanks it back with a vengeance. Eric Loesch returns to his hometown of Gerrysburg in upstate New York and sets out to renovate a secluded farmhouse. A strange bird, Eric is unpleasant and obviously burdened with secrets that, though unknown to the reader, seem to be known by the townsfolk. Childhood flashbacks fill in the gaps, and as the terrifying details of his past coalesce, Eric remains loathe to face the truth about some horrific events. Meanwhile, clues in the present lead Eric to understand that someone or something is out to get him, and past and present meet with violent but cathartic consequences. Lennon’s work is full of misanthropes and unsettling figures of all stripes, and the promise of emotional or spiritual redemption remains elusive. Here, the surprising denouement packs a powerful and brutal punch.

February 15, 2009
A soldier's homecoming conceals his childhood secret: the gothic excesses of the mad psychologist who formed his character.

Eric Loesch is middle-aged when he returns to his hometown of Gerrysburg, in upstate New York, in 2006. He promptly buys a fixer-upper on densely forested land. A prickly, self-righteous loner, he has run-ins with townspeople and rejects big sister Jill's friendly overtures. All Eric wants is to restore his house and explore his land. His curiosity is piqued by a massive rock that towers above the forest, and the ownership of a small area adjoining the rock. He finds out it belongs to Dr. Avery Stiles, years earlier a psychology professor at the state university where his father was head custodian. Who is Stiles? wonders Eric. We're past the halfway point when Eric tracks the now ancient Stiles to his lair beneath a ruined castle, prompting a flashback to childhood. Eric's angry, unhappy father, who would eventually kill himself and Eric's mother, had struck up a friendship with Stiles and allowed the psychologist to"borrow" his son for a series of experiments. These instilled in Eric extraordinary self-control, but at a high cost (he was made to torture animals), and led indirectly to his military career (there are hints it ended badly). The training sessions are memorable, as are the scenes of Eric's family life; the professor's vicious manipulation of Eric's gentle mother is hair-raising. There's a fine novel of domestic strife buried here, far more compelling than the mildly spooky forays into the sinister forest.

The parts are better than the whole in Lennon's curiously structured fifth novel (Mailman, 2003, etc.).

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

March 15, 2009
Eric Loesch, the narrator of this fifth novel from Lennon ("Mailman"), returns to rural upstate New York to buy land near where he grew up. He finds the town rundown, the ramshackle house on his property in need of major renovation, and his childhood neighborhood blighted with abandoned cars and weed-filled yards. Eric himself is a disagreeable loner, rebuffing the friendly locals, sometimes violently. Then he makes a startling discoverya parcel of land with a large rock formation and the ruins of a castle sits in the middle of his property but is not part of his deed. His obsession to find its owner not only opens doors into a dark relationship with his father and a peculiar psychologist named Avery Stiles but also discloses Eric's own violent past in command of a U.S. Army prison in Iraq. The appearance of his estranged sister, Jill, helps him sort out sinister elements in his past that he does not understand. This gripping novel will solidify Lennon's reputation; highly recommended for all public libraries.Donna Bettencourt, Mesa Cty. P.L., Grand Junction, CO

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2009
Returning to his hometown in upstate New York, Eric Loesch buys a large tract of forested land and the rundown house upon it. Emotionally constricted and painfully awkward in his dealings with locals, he is beset by strange feelings of fear and d'j vu as he first restores the house and then explores the land. Suspense mounts as he makes one strange discovery after anotheramong them that he is not aloneuntil a penultimate event unleashes a flood of memories and the novelists true agenda. In Mailman (2003), Lennon created an unforgettable, outsider protagonist, and Loesch is just as memorably crafted. What works less well here is the storys construction: what begins as a literary suspense novel with an almost mystical atmosphere is suddenly, violently grounded in current events. Readers willingness to follow the surprising shift will depend on their willingness to embrace unconventional narrative. However admirable, and whether or not intentionally, Lennons overt message breaks the spell cast by his art. Hes still a terrific talent, but Castle isnt as successful as his previous works.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)