Undermajordomo Minor by Patrick deWitt

​​Undermajordomo Minor: A Novel by Patrick deWitt
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Ecco (September 15, 2015)

From the book cover: A love story, an adventure story, a fable without a moral, and an ink-black comedy of manners,Undermajordomo Minor is Patrick deWitt’s long-awaited follow-up to the internationally bestselling and critically acclaimed novel The Sisters Brothers.
Lucien (Lucy) Minor is the resident odd duck in the bucolic hamlet of Bury. Friendless and loveless, young and aimless, Lucy is a compulsive liar, a sickly weakling in a town famous for producing brutish giants. Then Lucy accepts employment assisting the Majordomo of the remote, foreboding Castle Von Aux.
While tending to his new post as Undermajordomo, Lucy soon discovers the place harbors many dark secrets, not least of which is the whereabouts of the castle’s master, Baron Von Aux. He also encounters the colorful people of the local village—thieves, madmen, aristocrats, and Klara, a delicate beauty whose love he must compete for with the exceptionally handsome soldier, Adolphus. Thus begins a tale of polite theft, bitter heartbreak, domestic mystery, and cold-blooded murder in which every aspect of human behavior is laid bare for our hero to observe.
Undermajordomo Minor is an adventure, a mystery, and a searing portrayal of rural Alpine bad behavior, but above all it is a love story and Lucy must be careful, for love is a violent thing.

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It has been AGES since I have written a formal review. Not that I haven't been reading or listening to plenty that are worthy, I just haven't had the inclination to share here.  Surprise, surprise that this off-beat novel should be the one to inspire words.  Not a full fledged review or retelling the story words, but encouraging words to read this book.  And to read his previous book The Sisters Brothers if you haven't already.

If you want to know more about the story you should probably read a different review.  If you want to know why this book is worth reading I am going to tell you.  It is fun, disturbing, jaunty and original. I started page one without even looking at the jacket. I only knew that it was deWitt's new book and I loved his last. I had that much confidence in his story telling and he did not let me down.  This is a story. Others have compared it to a fable or folktale and I suppose I see where that is coming from now that I am finished. But that doesn't matter to me. What matters are the characters and the way they talk to each other and the things they do. The dialog is engaging banter. Verbal jousting another reviewer called it. It is not elegant, flowing prose and is not meant to be.

I am struggling to convey what I liked so much about this book and deWitt in general.  I am enthralled by his writing and the way he brings his characters to life. I feel satisfied and happy when I think about what I have read and I look forward to talking about it with my co-worker Marie who probably finished it last night.  A book that consumes so much of my attention and motivates me to write a blog post offers something many do not - Original Entertainment.