The Caretaker of Lorne FieldDave Zeltserman
Overlook Press, August 2010
ISBN: 978-1590203033
"Crime writer Zeltserman has produced a nail-biter...The narrative is straightforward and gritty, reminiscent of works of Dashiell Hammett...gripping and actually 'horrifying,' this title is recommended for horror fans and readers who may relish unpleasant surprises."
-Library Journal
"The Caretaker of Lorne Field is a fabulous amusing tale that grips the reader with a need to know whether the monster is real, a centuries old con, or generational lunacy"
"The Caretaker of Lorne Field is a fabulous amusing tale that grips the reader with a need to know whether the monster is real, a centuries old con, or generational lunacy"
-Midwest Book Review
"Jack Durkin is the ninth generation of Durkins who have weeded Lorne Field for nearly 300 years. Though he and his wife Lydia are miserable and would like nothing more than to leave, Jack must wait until his son has come of age to tend the field on his own. It's an important job, though no one else seems to realize it. For, if the field is left untended, a horrific monster called an Aukowie will grow-a monster capable of taking over the entirety of America in just two weeks. Or so it is said. . ."
Jack Durkin is the hero of Zeltserman's fresh and original story. Eight hours a day, every day for the last 31 years, from the first thaw to the first frost, Durkin has trudged to a small field in the middle of the woods to pick weeds. Thousands of weeds a day. It's backbreaking work, for which Durkin is paid only $8,000 a year and a place to live. The book opens with Durkin's wife telling him to get a real job, and he soon discovers that his first-born son, heir to the family business, wants no part of the field. Top that off with a town that is quickly questioning the logic of paying a man to weed an otherwise desolate field and you have the makings of a deeply thought-provoking novel.
Jack is the ninth generation of Durkins to work this field. That's roughly 300 years the Durkins have been saving the world on a daily basis. And people used to revere Jack's family; they took care of the Durkins and paid them well. People used to understand that the Durkins gave up most of life's pleasures so that we could all stay alive. Nowadays everyone thinks Jack is just a crazy man. Including his wife, a woman worn beyond her years, a woman who wears her bitterness with a kind of twisted pride. Though misunderstood, ridiculed, and persecuted, the gentle Jack lets nothing sway him from the job. And then one day, his wife decides that the contract must be broken, setting in motion a wheel of tragedy and horror.
I greatly anticipated receiving and reading this book. Once I started, I couldn't put it down until I found out how it ended. I definitely was not disappointed; it kept my undivided attention and interest wondering what would happen on the next page. There were certainly surprises along the way. There are dark levels to this work, some of which are immediately evident and others of which reveal themselves only upon later reflection. Dave Zeltserman unravels a mystery which never lets up. Zeltserman excels in telling the tale from Jack's point of view. It's clear what Jack sees and believes. But the haunting suspicion that maybe Jack is crazy can't be avoided. And the only way to know for sure seems to be if Jack fails in his daily efforts to kill the growing, hungry, malicious weeds. The Caretaker of Lorne Field is a timeless literary masterpiece, that should not be missed! One of my favorite books of 2010! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
DAVE ZELTSERMAN's 'man out of prison' crime thriller series features the novels Small Crimes, Pariah and Killer. Small Crimes was selected by NPR as one of the five best crime novels of 2008 and by the Washington Post as one of the best novels of 2008, and Pariah also selected by the Washington Post as one of the best novels of 2009. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Dave attended the University of Colorado in Boulder, and after graduating with a BS in Applied Math and Computer Science, returned back to the Boston area where he continues to reside with his wife, Judy.
"Jack Durkin is the ninth generation of Durkins who have weeded Lorne Field for nearly 300 years. Though he and his wife Lydia are miserable and would like nothing more than to leave, Jack must wait until his son has come of age to tend the field on his own. It's an important job, though no one else seems to realize it. For, if the field is left untended, a horrific monster called an Aukowie will grow-a monster capable of taking over the entirety of America in just two weeks. Or so it is said. . ."
Jack Durkin is the hero of Zeltserman's fresh and original story. Eight hours a day, every day for the last 31 years, from the first thaw to the first frost, Durkin has trudged to a small field in the middle of the woods to pick weeds. Thousands of weeds a day. It's backbreaking work, for which Durkin is paid only $8,000 a year and a place to live. The book opens with Durkin's wife telling him to get a real job, and he soon discovers that his first-born son, heir to the family business, wants no part of the field. Top that off with a town that is quickly questioning the logic of paying a man to weed an otherwise desolate field and you have the makings of a deeply thought-provoking novel.
Jack is the ninth generation of Durkins to work this field. That's roughly 300 years the Durkins have been saving the world on a daily basis. And people used to revere Jack's family; they took care of the Durkins and paid them well. People used to understand that the Durkins gave up most of life's pleasures so that we could all stay alive. Nowadays everyone thinks Jack is just a crazy man. Including his wife, a woman worn beyond her years, a woman who wears her bitterness with a kind of twisted pride. Though misunderstood, ridiculed, and persecuted, the gentle Jack lets nothing sway him from the job. And then one day, his wife decides that the contract must be broken, setting in motion a wheel of tragedy and horror.
I greatly anticipated receiving and reading this book. Once I started, I couldn't put it down until I found out how it ended. I definitely was not disappointed; it kept my undivided attention and interest wondering what would happen on the next page. There were certainly surprises along the way. There are dark levels to this work, some of which are immediately evident and others of which reveal themselves only upon later reflection. Dave Zeltserman unravels a mystery which never lets up. Zeltserman excels in telling the tale from Jack's point of view. It's clear what Jack sees and believes. But the haunting suspicion that maybe Jack is crazy can't be avoided. And the only way to know for sure seems to be if Jack fails in his daily efforts to kill the growing, hungry, malicious weeds. The Caretaker of Lorne Field is a timeless literary masterpiece, that should not be missed! One of my favorite books of 2010! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
DAVE ZELTSERMAN's 'man out of prison' crime thriller series features the novels Small Crimes, Pariah and Killer. Small Crimes was selected by NPR as one of the five best crime novels of 2008 and by the Washington Post as one of the best novels of 2008, and Pariah also selected by the Washington Post as one of the best novels of 2009. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Dave attended the University of Colorado in Boulder, and after graduating with a BS in Applied Math and Computer Science, returned back to the Boston area where he continues to reside with his wife, Judy.
