From Powells.com
Staff Pick
Lucy leaves his childhood home to take a position as "Undermajordomo" at Castle Von Aux; his life will never be the same. A demented Baron, a secret letter, a couple of professional pickpockets, a spawning salmon, a very large hole, and true love, all play integral parts in this quasi modern fairy tale. Portland author Patrick DeWitt carries forward his sparkling wit from The Sisters Brothers, making Undermajordomo Minor a quirky must-read. Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com
The delightful and cunning author of The Sisters Brothers returns with another enigmatic, off-kilter tale. Set in a vaguely fairy tale-like land, Undermajordomo Minor traces the wayward path of the young Lucien, who is to begin a new post at the castle of a mysterious baron. Darkly funny and deftly crafted, deWitt's new novel is smart, seductive, and a lot of fun. Recommended By Renee P., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
From the bestselling, Man Booker-shortlisted author of The Sisters Brothers, comes a brilliant and boisterous novel that reimagines the folk tale.
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.
Review
"Out of all the thieving and warring and heartbreak and, yes, the occasional half-eaten rat — [deWitt has] crafted something worthwhile: humor, and hope." NPR.org
Review
"Undermajordomo Minor not only salutes the literature of a bygone era but fully inhabits it, and the result is a novel that offers the same delights as the fair talks and adventure stories it takes on." New York Times Book Review
Review
"Throughout the novel, [deWitt] seeks to play against our expectations, to take the moral lessons inherent in his chosen form and rewire them, give them additional dimension and heft… The result is a novel that carves out its own amusements, much as its protagonist does." Los Angeles Times
Review
"deWitt has another askew masterpiece on his hands... deWitt has delivered another intriguing, compelling, and thought-provoking winner that will appeal to anyone who wants to be captivated by a smart, entertaining read." Booklist (Starred Review)
Review
"DeWitt uses familiar tropes to lull the reader into a false sense of grounding, delivering with abundant good humor a fully realized, consistently surprising, and thoroughly amusing tale of longing, love, madness, and mirth." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
Review
"Patrick deWitt has an untrammelled and utterly original imagination. I cannot think of anyone else who could pull off so beautifully this controlled explosion of drollery, mischief, sly fun and tenderness." Neel Mukherjee, author of The Lives of Others
Review
"Undermajordomo Minor wears a fairytale cloak, but at its wondrous and fantastical heart lies an unexpectedly moving story about love, home, and the difficulty of finding one’s place in the world. Elegant, beautifully strange, and utterly superb." Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven
Synopsis
Friendless and loveless, young and aimless, Lucien (Lucy) Minor is the resident odd duck in his bucolic hamlet of Bury, a weakling and compulsive liar in a town famous for producing brutish giants. When Lucy finds employment--as Undermajordomo, assisting the Majordomo of a remote, foreboding castle--he soon discovers the place harbors many dark secrets, not least of which is the whereabouts of the castle's master, Baron Von Aux. Along the way, he encounters thieves, madmen, aristocrats, and Klara, a delicate beauty for whose love he must compete. Thus begins a tale of theft, heartbreak, mystery, and cold-blooded murder in which every aspect of humanity is laid bare for our hero to observe. Undermajordomo Minor is an adventure story, a fable without a moral, an ink-black comedy of manners, and a love story--and Lucy must be careful, for love is a violent thing.
About the Author
Patrick deWitt is the author of the critically acclaimed Ablutions: Notes for a Novel, as well as The Sisters Brothers, which was short-listed for the Booker Prize. Born in British Columbia, he has also lived in California and Washington, and now resides in Portland, Oregon.