Synopses & Reviews
Henry, a New Yorker left destitute by circumstance and obsession, is plucked from vagrancy by a shadowy outfit whose primary business is arranging for staged murders of anxiety-ridden clients unhinged by the events downtown and seeking to experience and live through their own carefully executed assassinations. When Henry joins this nefarious crew, which includes a beautiful blonde tattooist named Tulip, contortionist twins, and a woman referred to only as "the knockout," he becomes inextricably linked to its ringleader, the mysterious herring connoisseur Mr. Kindt, whose identity can be traced through twists and turns all the way back to the corpse depicted in Rembrandt's
The Anatomy Lesson.
Mirrored by a concurrently running story set in a hospital where Henry and Mr. Kindt are patients attended to by a certain Dr. Tulp, the mysteries surrounding Mr. Kindt's past, Henry's fate, and murders both staged and real begin to unravel in the most extraordinary ways. Substantive, stylish, and darkly comic, The Exquisite is a skillful dissection of reality, human connection, and the very nature of existence.
Review
"Strange, original, and utterly brilliant-Laird Hunt is one of the most talented young writers on the American scene today." Paul Auster
Review
"Hunt's novels shimmer and shift like reflections on wind-stirred water. His third haunting, nonlinear tale is set in post-9/11 New York City....he result is an edgy and labyrinthine tale of longing, madness, and death." Booklist
Review
"Bring your suspension of disbelief and negative capability on this wild literary trip." Library Journal
Review
"Hunt's lapidary dialogue, sharp observation and penchant for enlivening character with a few deft strokes might be better showcased in a less meta-fictional straitjacket. An author to watch once he 'murders' his mentors." Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
"Strange, original, and utterly brilliant--Laird Hunt is one of the most talented young writers on the American scene today."--Paul Auster
Henry, a New Yorker left destitute by circumstance and obsession, is plucked from vagrancy by a shadowy outfit whose primary business is arranging for staged murders of anxiety-ridden clients unhinged by the "events downtown" and seeking to -experience--and live through--their own carefully executed assassinations. When Henry joins this nefarious crew, which includes a beautiful blonde tattooist named Tulip, contortionist twins, and a woman referred to only as "the knockout," he becomes inextricably linked to its ringleader, the mysterious herring connoisseur Mr. Kindt, whose identity can be traced through twists and turns all the way back to the corpse depicted in Rembrandt's The Anatomy Lesson.
Mirrored by a concurrently running story set in a hospital where Henry and Mr. Kindt are patients attended to by a certain Dr. Tulp, the mysteries surrounding Mr. Kindt's past, Henry's fate, and murders both staged and real begin to unravel in the most extraordinary ways. Substantive, stylish, and darkly comic, The Exquisite is a skillful dissection of reality, human connection, and the very nature of existence.
Synopsis
A spine-tingling, intricate tale of love, betrayal, and psychological gamesmanship in the wake of 9/11.
About the Author
Laird Hunt, former press officer at the United Nations and current faculty member at Denver University, is the author of Indiana, Indiana and The Impossibly, which was shortlisted for the Firecracker Alternative Book Award. His writing has been serialized in Fence, Conjunctions, and Ellipsis, and has appeared in several recent anthologies including 110 Stories: New York Writes after September 11.
Exclusive Essay
Read an exclusive essay by Laird Hunt