The House of Rumour: A Novel
Interweaving a large cast of characters—some real, some purely fictional—British author Arnott takes the reader on a labyrinthine (Borges being a frequent reference) excursion through much of the mid- to late twentieth century. Beginning during World War II (mysterious fugitive Nazi Rudolf Hess figures in the plot), Arnott utilizes the forms and preoccupations of pulp fiction and the lives of its practitioners (from L. Ron Hubbard to Ian Fleming and Robert Heinlein) in the seminal years of genre writing (spy thrillers, science fiction) in driving the plot. His imagined characters are well drawn and their interactions compelling, and they are interestingly joined in the action by contemporaries including Aleister Crowley and, later, the Reverend Jim Jones. This big, intricate novel with a large and varied vast of characters, though unique, may appeal to readers of Jennifer Egan and David Mitchell, as well as to fans of the respective genres. --Mark Levine