Synopses & Reviews
It is a literary event when a genuinely new fictional voice comes along. When that voice achieves its newness not through a certain formal facility but through the freshness of its vision, there is truly something to celebrate. Matt Ruff was only twenty-two when
Fool on the Hill was first published, but with his novel he gave us a story that won over readers of every persuasion. Not your usual first effort,
Fool on the Hill is a full-blown epic of life and death, good and evil, magic and love.
Think of the imaginative daring of Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale. The zany popism of Tom Robbins's Another Roadside Attraction. The gnomish fantasies of J.R.R. Tolkien. Think of these and you begin to get some idea of one of the most remarkable first novels to come along in years.
In the world of Fool on the Hill dogs and cats can talk, a subculture of sprites lives in the shadows and underfoot (if you're the sensitive type, or drunk enough, you might see them cavorting across the lawn), and the Bohemians, a group of Harley- and horseback-riding students dedicated to all things unconventional, hold all-night revels for the glory of their cause.
Then there is Stephen Titus George, the novel's youthful hero, who somehow finds himself the main player in a story that began well over a century ago. George is a mild-mannered flier of kites, a sometimes writer of bestselling fiction, and would-be knight looking for a maiden. George will find his girl and the century-old story will provide the proverbial dragon whose slaying will sanctify their love. But it will not be a sword that fells the foe but the transforming power of the imagination.
Review
"Inspired...rich in flavorful language...this dazzling tour de force makes for an auspicious literary debut." San Francisco Chronicle
Review
"Matt Ruff's novel is a comic fantasy of wonderful energy, invention, and generosity of spirit; it marks the start of what should be a remarkable career." Alison Lurie
Review
"From Shakespeare to Tolkien to Tom Robbins, Matt Ruff knows his stuff and proceeds to use it....The plot comes together like a brilliant clockwork toy....Ruff should leave even his cynical elders disarmed in the end." Locus
Review
"The fantasy field is full of readers falling in love with writers....Talent is not a prerequisite to reader-writer bonding, but I like talent. Matt Ruff...is loaded." Philadelphia Inquirer
Review
"[E]xuberant...a violent and funny modern-day fairy tale....Too many of Ruff's narrative devices exist only to spotlight the author's cleverness, but at its best, his debut brims with good humor and imagination." Publishers Weekly
Review
"A wonderful story, a delight." The San Diego Union-Tribune
Review
"Unlike his peers, young author Matt Ruff lets fantasy speak through his pen and for his generation." Spin
Review
"Funky and fantastical!" New York
Synopsis
From the New York Times Bestselling author of Lovecraft Country, now an HBO series.
It is a literary event when a genuinely new fictional voice comes along. When that voice achieves its newness not through a certain formal facility but through the freshness of its vision, there is truly something to celebrate. Matt Ruff was only twenty-two when Fool on the Hill was first published, but with his novel he gave us a story that won over readers of every persuasion. Not your usual first effort, Fool on the Hill is a full-blown epic of life and death, good and evil, magic and love.
Think of the imaginative daring of Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale. The zany popism of Tom Robbins's Another Roadside Attraction. The gnomish fantasies of J.R. Tolkien. Think of these and you begin to get some idea of one of the most remarkable first novels to come along in years.
In the world of Fool on the Hill dogs and cats can talk, a subculture of sprites lives in the shadows and underfoot (if you're the sensitive type, or drunk enough, you might see them cavorting across the lawn), and the Bohemians, a group of Harley- and horseback-riding students dedicated to all things unconventional, hold all-night revels for the glory of their cause.
Then there is Stephen Titus George, the novel's youthful hero, who somehow finds himself the main player in a story that began well over a century ago. George is a mild-mannered flier of kites, a sometimes writer of bestselling fiction, and would-be knight looking for a maiden. George will find his girl and the century-old story will provide the proverbial dragon whose slaying will sanctify their love. But it will not be a sword that fells the foe but the transforming power of the imagination.
Synopsis
The debut novel from the New York Times Bestselling author of Lovecraft Country, now an HBO series
Synopsis
A young writer-in-residence at Cornell University is caught up in an epic of love and death, good and evil...and magic.
Synopsis
As adventurous as the quests of J.R.R. Tolkien and as contemporary as the zany entertainment of Tom Robbins, Fool on the Hill is certain to bring laughs and be remembered for a long time to come. The hero is S.T. George, a young writer-in-residence at Cornell, who is looking for love and dragons to slay. Soon George is caught up in an epic struggle of life and death, good and evil, magic and love.