The Horned Man opens with a man losing his place in a book, then deepens into a dark and terrifying tale of a man losing his place in the world. As Lawrence Miller—an English expatriate and professor of gender studies—tells the story of what appears to be an elaborate conspiracy to frame him for a series of brutal killings, we descend into a world of subtly deceptive appearances where persecutor and victim continually shift roles, where paranoia assumes an air of calm rationality, and where enlightenment itself casts a darkness in which the most nightmarish acts occur. As the novel races to its shocking conclusion, we follow Miller as he traverses the streets of Manhattan and the decaying suburbs beyond, in terrified pursuit of his pursuers. Written with sinuous grace and intellectual acuity, The Horned Man is an extraordinary, unforgettable first novel by an acclaimed writer and poet of unusual power.
The Horned Man: A Novel
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Penzler Pick, April 2002: Already a sensation in his native England, this first novel by expatriate James Lasdun is one of the most disturbing and compelling books you are likely to read this year.
The protagonist, Lawrence Miller, is himself an expat teaching gender studies at a small college located just outside New York City. He is a member of the sexual harassment committee which meets on a regular basis to walk that fine line between the sublime and the ridiculous of political correctness.
Miller's well-ordered life starts to disintegrate one day when he takes a book from the shelf in his office to find that the bookmark has been moved several pages although, as far as he knows, nobody has visited his office. An easily explained lapse of memory perhaps, but Miller decides he will discuss it with the therapist he has been seeing in Manhattan since his wife left him. He is shocked as he approaches her office to see the therapist walking towards him, but she turns off towards Central Park before he can speak to her and he then loses sight of her. When he arrives at her office, however, she is waiting for him as usual and assures him that she has not left her office; in fact, she is always with another patient before Miller's appointment.
So begins the disorientation of Lawrence Miller. He has his little obsessions, of course--he won't pick up the messages on his answering machine, for instance, in order to convince himself that while he was out his wife tried to call him. Still in love with her, he hopes that she will call and want to return to him. But this is just a game he plays, part of his very human nature. He is in no way the sort of man who is paranoid or imagines conspiracies, but the unexplained incidents seem to be increasing.
Miller tries to rationalize what is happening, but he can't help thinking, nor can we, that he has become the target of somebody who wishes him harm. And when a series of murders takes place, Miller begins to suspect that he is being set up to take the blame for these murders by a devious and diabolical mind.
Lawrence Miller struggles to loosen the hold his pursuers have on him, but the more he struggles the more he appears to be drowning. Try to sleep after reading his terrifying story. --Otto Penzler
From Publishers Weekly
A lonely, eccentric New York academic discovers his office is also home to a deranged squatter in this startling, brilliantly mysterious debut novel by poet and short story writer Lasdun. Alerted by misplaced bookmarks, deleted computer files and a dirty bed sheet under his desk, Brit Lawrence Miller, a professor of gender studies at Arthur Clay College, becomes convinced that a stranger is camping out nightly in his office. Though preoccupied by his wife's recent decampment and his membership on the college's sexual harassment committee, Lawrence fixates on the illustrious Professor Trumilcik, an Eastern European womanizer and ex-board member, who went mad on campus one afternoon and never returned. Could he be the uninvited guest? The shocking news that several area women have been found brutally beaten to death heightens Lawrence's hysteria. Erratic behavior ruins a date with Elaine, the school attorney, and confuses his relationship with his therapist. When a heavy metal pipe falls out of his briefcase, Lawrence has to wonder: could this be the weapon used in the killings? As reality slips and slides, Lawrence, in full paranoia mode, comes to believe that Trumilcik is framing him for the murders. References to the works of Kafka and to mystical pharmacology add depth and insight, though a few key tense moments are squelched by lengthy exposition of the protagonist's compulsivethought processes. Introspective readers with a taste for the bizarre will appreciate Lasdun's eerily elusiveconclusion, but those seeking definitive closure will be left scratching their heads. Rights sold in France, Germany, Holland, Italy and the U.K.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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First Sentence
One afternoon earlier this winter, in a moment of idle curiosity, I took a book from the shelf in my office and began reading it where it fell open on a piece of compressed tissue that had evidently been used as a bookmark. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
One afternoon earlier this winter, in a moment of idle curiosity, I took a book from the shelf in my office and began reading it where it fell open on a piece of compressed tissue that had evidently been used as a bookmark. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
Format:Paperback
Like one of the other reviewers of this book, I was also "left scratching my head"! I found that I was drawn in at the beginning but as the story wore on I was hoping more and more that the end would provide some clarification as to what exactly the story was about. Not quite the page turner I was expecting and I found by the time I reached the end I was baffled and unsatisfied. I didn't like the story but it was beautifully written.
By huckledude
Format:Hardcover
I think that this book is considerably overrated by the reviewers. I read it complete in about four hours. The initial setup is good, and some of the flashbacks are engrossing -- more engrossing, in fact, than the main narrative line of the story. There is also a fine description of political- correctness-induced paranoia and continual self-monitoring for unconscious violations; that issue would have been a better subject for the whole story, but it becomes less and less relevant as the story progresses.
I believe that fully a third of the text, consisting of repetitive ruminations and descriptions of his mood, could have been omitted without loss, indeed it would have improved the pacing of the story. The book is told entirely from the narrator's physical viewpoint. None of the other characters have depth or dimension to them -- they are there simply as plot devices.
The flavor of the narrative is consciously Kafkaesque (helpfully pointed out by a subplot involving a stage production of a Kafka story). It could have used a healthy dose of Dostoyevsky, that is, the story would have been much more dimensional if the narrator had any awareness or conscious purpose in his conduct.
Other novels of academia that I would recommend: The Blue Angel, by Francis Prose, is a better satire of academia's infestation by political correctness and resulting paranoia. For a hilarious account of academic personalities and politics, nothing tops Richard Russo's Straight Man. For the mind of the criminal -- see Dostoyevsky's Raskolnikov, who was, after all, a student.
By ra2sky
Format:Paperback
It's hard to describe this book. The writing is terrific and the main character is disturbingly well described. However, I had a hard time finishing this book...I guess I didn't find the plot very compelling. Or maybe I wasn't reading closely enough because there were a couple of plot turns that left me scratching my head. This is not a book to zip through. But the writing is superb.
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3.8 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Far from your ordinary suspense thriller
This book is a piece of literature masquerading as a thriller. The mystery surrounds Lawrence Miller and his connections to the disappearance of several women to whom he finds... Read more
Published on Jun 26 2003 by Eugene
5.0 out of 5 stars
Surrealistric : perfect for film adaptation by David Lynch
After reading this fantastic novel, it should come as no surprise that James Lasdun won a Best Screenplay prize at Sundance some years ago, for "The Horned Man" (HM) is cinematic... Read more
Published on Jun 18 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars
A compelling and literate creation
A beautifully crafted work that first captivates, then challenges the reader. I certainly plan to read it again. Read more
Published on Jun 13 2003 by Steven
4.0 out of 5 stars
What World Are We In?
Lawrence Miller is a professor of Gender Studies at a small New York college. Except for his recent separation from his wife life seemed fairly normal for professor Miller. Read more
Published on Jun 13 2003 by Robert Derenthal
4.0 out of 5 stars
What World Are We In?
Lawrence Miller is a professor of Gender Studies at a small New York college. Except for his recent separation from his wife life seemed fairly normal for professor Miller. Read more
Published on Jun 13 2003 by Robert Derenthal
5.0 out of 5 stars
A mesmerizing study in duality
Unfortunately, the person who recommended this book to me spilled the entire premise before I even cracked it open, so many suspicions I would have developed as I read the book I... Read more
Published on Jun 10 2003 by J. Gifford
1.0 out of 5 stars
Worst Book I've Read In Years
Mr. Lasdun teaches creative writing. Sometimes that old adage, "Those who can, do; Those who cannot, teach." is true. Read more
Published on Jun 3 2003 by D. ABRAHAMSEN
2.0 out of 5 stars
DISAPPOINTING AND PREDICTABLE
I had high hopes for this novel when I first saw it, then read about it - from the inside flap: '(the book) opens with a man losing his place in a book, then deepens into a dark... Read more
Published on May 11 2003 by Larry L. Looney
2.0 out of 5 stars
Might give him another chance, but not impressed...
I agree with the previous reviewer, in that I rated this book a 2 rather than a 1 due to the fine writing that kept my interest despite the fact that I could predict the outcome... Read more
Published on Jan 14 2003
3.0 out of 5 stars
Dreamlike story of isolation in the big city
Not a light, breezy reading experience, but definitely worth the little bit of effort and focus it asks of you. Read more
Published on Dec 12 2002 by Joseph P. Menta, Jr.
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