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Music for Torching

3.69 of 5 stars 3.69 · rating details · 1,780 ratings · 213 reviews

As A.M. Homes's incendiary novel unfolds, the Kodacolor hues of the good life become nearly hallucinogenic.Laying bare th foundations of a marriage, flash frozen in the anxious entropy of a suburban subdivision, Paul and Elaine spin the quit terors of family life into a fantastical frenzy that careens out of control. From a strange and hilarious encounter with a Stepford W...more

Paperback, 368 pages

Published April 5th 2000 by Harper Perennial (first published 1998)

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Jul 12, 2008 Cashman rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Cashman by: Anne

In Thoreau's day, people led lives of quiet desperation. There is nothing quiet here.

(p. 93)
"Should I call what's-her-name?" Elaine turns to Sammy. "What's Nate's mother's name?"
"Mom?" Sammy says.
Daniel hits him. "Butt plug."
"Help me, what's her name?" Elaine asks Paul.

Nope, nothing quiet here.

(p. 189) Paul notices that the color of her eye shadow is Fiction, her lipstick is called Sheer Fraud.

(p. 195) "'If nothing else, it seems like the one thing we do well—we fight and we c**k. That's how we...more

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Aug 24, 2008 Mulligan rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Those wary of the "American Dream"

Delightfully devastating. With this book, A.M. Homes paints a haunting picture of suburbia. The main characters, Paul and Elaine, have managed to keep up with the Joneses in their seemingly perfect suburban town, but their lovely house, friendly neighbors and two boys have left them with a life filled with boredom and despair. They want to make things good again in their lives, yet are caught in a shame spiral that begins with a failed attempt to burn down their house and ends with a hostage sit...more

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May 12, 2013 Sarah Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars

OH MY GOD is exactly what I said to my empty living room when I finished reading this novel by A.M. Homes. After Revolutionary Road and Little Children this is the third successive novel i've read dealing with suburban life in America. Paul and Elaine this time are the unhappy couple and a little bit crazy, certainly depressed, completely selfish, mostly unlikeable and somehow and i've no idea how but Homes makes you care about these two strangely believable characters. The story starts when the...more OH MY GOD is exactly what I said to my empty living room when I finished reading this novel by A.M. Homes. After Revolutionary Road and Little Children this is the third successive novel i've read dealing with suburban life in America. Paul and Elaine this time are the unhappy couple and a little bit crazy, certainly depressed, completely selfish, mostly unlikeable and somehow and i've no idea how but Homes makes you care about these two strangely believable characters. The story starts when they burn down their house on a whim, seemingly just for the craic by kicking over the barbeque. The house isn't completely destroyed just some superficial damage and a hole in the dining room wall. They end up staying at Pat and Georges house, Pat being the stereotypical stepford housewife who isn't as most people aren't, all that she seems (it is very funny and very weird when that little plot thread comes to a head) and their two kids Sammy and Daniel are shipped off to two friends house (Sammy staying with Nate the son of Mrs Apple, one of the women Paul is having an affair with, and Daniel with the Meaders who are the traditionally normal family but seem kind of odd against the cacophony of strange characters we meet). The rest of the story then deals with this anything but normal family attempting to get back to normal, to rebuild and improve their house and well lives too.
I think this novel is about how people are never who they portray on the surface and that really everyone is a little bit crazy but even if it's about nothing but an entertaining story then that's more than enough. Homes writes the kind of things other people are afraid to say out loud and she writes it well. I have a sad little confession, when I read a book I write down the sentences/quotes I particularly like. I couldn't do that with this novel, because I pretty much particularly liked every line in it. It's very funny, it's very dark, it's very twisted and it's very excellent. It may not be to everyones liking however, I imagine a good barometer would be if you like American Beauty then this you will love.
Finally, I wished more books had endings like this one, she's some writer. If the one advantage of being dark and twisty is getting to love novels like this then I say embrace the dark and twisty, it's occasionally worth it.(less)

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May 01, 2013 Marijn Woudstra rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another brilliant, though rather disturbing, book by A.M. Homes, whose book This book will change your life, I enjoyed tremendously. Homes is an excellent writer with a sharp eye for the incapacity of humans just to be happy. However where in This book etc, the tone turns from despair to hope, there is no hope here. Life is miserable and it will always remain that way.
Strangely enough the relationship of Paul and Elaine, the unhappy protagonists of the book, who constantly fight, bicker and chea...more

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Apr 15, 2013 Nico Blackheart rated it 4 of 5 stars

I saw this book on a recommendation list and figured I would give it a try since I like quirky dark humor in the spirit of Running With Scissors. Homes' style is dry, witty, and leaves nothing to the imagination. Where most other authors in this genre of starkly depressing humor use flowery language to skirt around the issues presented, Homes uses very simple English to get her points across, and most of the time it makes for a refreshingly human read with minimal pretense. Despite the fact that...more I saw this book on a recommendation list and figured I would give it a try since I like quirky dark humor in the spirit of Running With Scissors. Homes' style is dry, witty, and leaves nothing to the imagination. Where most other authors in this genre of starkly depressing humor use flowery language to skirt around the issues presented, Homes uses very simple English to get her points across, and most of the time it makes for a refreshingly human read with minimal pretense. Despite the fact that not much actually happens in the book, it's fast paced and constantly keeps you wondering just what will happen next.

This is very "slice of life". It's simply a series of terrible events in a family's life that aren't too far fetched from things that could really happen. A few scenes are over the top and definitely reserved for fiction, but overall this is a believable and touching book, even when it's crass and disturbing. The ending leaves more to be desired, it's left on an uncomfortable cliffhanger, but so are many moments in real life. In real life no one's story is wrapped up happily at the end to make up for all the bad, so I guess the omission of an epilogue works for Music For Torching.

(view spoiler) I'll give Homes the benefit of the doubt, not everything in life is picture perfect, despite how we all try. This is especially evident in the character Pat, someone striving for perfection who ends up losing herself to her pent up desires before the eyes of the dysfunctional family she's taken into her home after the "accidental" fire that sets up the events of the book.

I'd recommend it to others who are fans of the likes of Augusten Burroughs and David Sedaris. It's a bit less poetic and sentimental than the works of those authors, but what it lacks in verbose language it makes up for in gritty relatable honesty. (less)

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Dec 28, 2012 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

I realize that I should probably wait a little longer than 5 minutes after I have finished reading this so that the integrity of my review is a little more, how can I say, well-rounded. I soared through this book, and I think anyone would. It is absolutely jammed-packed with the essentials for a juicy, trashy novel. The cool thing about it, however, is that the two principal characters, Elaine and Paul, while each dealing with her and his disdain for everything quotidian, reflect on all the choi...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Edward S. Portman rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Leggere in relativa rapida successione In un paese di madri e questo Musica per un incendio, entrambi, ovvio, di A. M. Homes, permetti di fare alcuni confronti su due opere che magari nelle intenzioni dell’autrice non dovevano essere legate. Musica per un incendio infatti è molto più famoso per essere una specie di sequel lungo del racconto Adulti da soli contenuto nella raccolta La sicurezza degli oggetti, ma è anche vero che la scrittrice statunitense ha inserito in questo romanzo anche una br...more Leggere in relativa rapida successione In un paese di madri e questo Musica per un incendio, entrambi, ovvio, di A. M. Homes, permetti di fare alcuni confronti su due opere che magari nelle intenzioni dell’autrice non dovevano essere legate. Musica per un incendio infatti è molto più famoso per essere una specie di sequel lungo del racconto Adulti da soli contenuto nella raccolta La sicurezza degli oggetti, ma è anche vero che la scrittrice statunitense ha inserito in questo romanzo anche una breve fugace apparizione di una delle protagoniste di In un paese di madri: Claire Roth.
I due romanzi sono diametralmente opposti, sotto questo punto di vista, ovvero: se nel primo, in senso cronologico (vale a dire In un paese di madri) la questione era legata soprattutto alla necessità di sentirsi appunto madre, sottolineando il desiderio di riaffermare il legame con la figlia, nel secondo, questo caso, si ha la sensazione che invece la protagonista femminile cerchi in tutto e per tutto di dimenticare di essere madre, cancellando la situazione nella quale si trova per poter di nuovo ripartire da zero, senza alcun legame od ostacolo, o problema. L’incendio a cui si riferisce il titolo è proprio il risultato di un maldestro tentativo di fare tabula rasa, da parte dei due coniugi presi in esame nel libro.
Non tutto è riconducibile a questa linea di lettura, ovvio. Nell’arco delle quasi quattrocento pagine c’è modo di trovare anche molto altro, come per esempio la frustrazione della vita matrimoniale di mezzo, un regno di nessuno nel quale non sei più giovane ma non sei ancora ufficialmente vecchio (che in fondo è ciò che spinge i due protagonisti all’incendio di cui sopra); il mondo del tutto diverso della periferia (quasi campagna) americana, lontano non solo dalle città ma anche dalla visione che se ne ha dall’esterno; la natura dei tradimenti e il convivere con essi mantenendo una facciata di rispetto nonostante entrambi, sia lui che lei, sappiano o immagino della vita extra coniugale dell’altro; il pericolo sempre incombente di come una qualsiasi passione possa influenzare in modo negativo i bambini.
Ogni cosa mescolata sapientemente per fare in modo di amalgamarsi quasi alla perfezione al resto della storia e formare un composto compatto e privo di crepe. Tutto perfetto se non avessi detto quasi. Si, perché Musica per un incendio non è un libro perfettamente riuscito, almeno non per come lo posso vedere io. Il problema non è da ricondurre nella prosa, che con A. M. Homes come al solito non è banale ma è assai scorrevole, quanto piuttosto in alcune scelte della stessa autrice. In primo piano proprio l’incendio, così importante da dovergli rendere omaggio anche nel titolo. Senza di esso gran parte delle situazioni non si verrebbero a creare, o almeno lo farebbero ma magari in un lasso di tempo assai più ampio e meno omogeneamente; ma il particolare stonato non è tanto l’incendio in sé per sé, quanto piuttosto il momento in cui avviene, o meglio: il momento in cui questo è volontariamente provocato. È troppo presto, secondo il mio modesto avviso, per chiedere al lettore di credere a una situazione del genere. Sarebbe stato meglio se la Homes avesse allungato il libro di qualche pagina di introduzione, quel tanto che bastava per rendere quel gesto non dico inevitabile ma almeno comprensibile. In assenza di questo preambolo ci si trova con un fatto molto importante per l’economia del libro per il quale si chiede al lettore un grosso sforzo per accettarlo come realmente possibile.
L’altro problema riguarda invece il finale e senza addentrarsi troppo nello specifico e svelare niente, si può dire che anche in questo caso si ha una strana sensazione di mancanza, come se l’autrice si fosse dimenticata di ‘avvicinarci’ al finale. Da un certo punto di vista – punto di vista che però si acquisisce solo dopo avere provato un certo disorientamento – potrebbe essere una scelta fatta per sottolineare come, nella maggior parte delle volte, le cose accadono senza alcun preavviso, ed quanto sia difficile vedere quei piccoli microscopici indizi presenti nella vita di tutti i giorni se non a fatti ormai avvenuti, a posteriori. Questa è un’opinione che ti fai dopo, anche in questo caso a posteriori, e forse potrebbe anche essere la risposta migliore e il vero intento dell’autrice, ma rimane comunque la tua seconda sensazione, mentre la prima ti rimane appiccicata addosso senza darti la possibilità di dimenticarla del tutto.
Un libro che nonostante questo si lascia ben leggere, offrendo anche spunti interessanti, ma difficile da giudicare senza considerare la pesante ombra della propria autrice, e proprio per questo: una mezza occasione sprecata, per come inizia e per come finisce.(less)

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Sep 17, 2011 Tammy rated it 3 of 5 stars

It was very difficult for me to assign a rating to this book.

On one hand - it is very well written. That is usually enough to earn 4 stars from me. I do love a well-turned phrase.

On the other hand - it was very difficult to read. The characters - straight across the board - are very unlikeable. It was hard for me to care about what happened to them. To make matters worse, every now and then I would see a little glimpse of myself or of other people I love. Never enough to make me think that I - o...more

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Nov 15, 2012 marg rated it 3 of 5 stars

I can't in good conscience give this fewer than three stars, because it held my attention, was at times strikingly funny and/or insightful, and was a definite show of talent - but so many times I wanted to throw it across the room and/or give it one star, so, I am settling for three with misgivings.

Let's start by saying that I am a realist. I like my fiction as unfictiony as possible. What I can't handle is fiction via fun house mirrors, ie, scenarios and people so outlandish they cannot be real...more I can't in good conscience give this fewer than three stars, because it held my attention, was at times strikingly funny and/or insightful, and was a definite show of talent - but so many times I wanted to throw it across the room and/or give it one star, so, I am settling for three with misgivings.

Let's start by saying that I am a realist. I like my fiction as unfictiony as possible. What I can't handle is fiction via fun house mirrors, ie, scenarios and people so outlandish they cannot be real or relatable yet the storyline and overall writing is acting as if it's real. Sort of like watching the Simpsons (which I love) but with real people, not cartoons. Suddenly, not so funny anymore.
MFT takes on the ever popular and painfully cliched topic of Les Suburbs, seemingly nice families and homes that are riddled with unrest, affairs, and quiet desperation. This is suburbs on crack, and everyone is beyond the realm of real, be they too unlikable or too perfect or too troubled. Overall you feel like the characters (if not the author herself) are on crack and therefore nothing actually seems upsetting, or it's all upsetting, because it all falls short of seeming actual.
The basic premise is a rather clever one - unhappy Elaine and Paul (who are always flirting with macabre in their unhappiness - we first meet them washing up in the kitchen, and Elaine holds a knife to Paul's neck and grazes it. Mm yup that is unhappy, certainly, and all the odder that it doesn't strike either of them as particularly worrisome, or change the tenor of their marriage) decide whilst barbecuing one early summer evening to tilt the grill (after pouring lighter fluid on the house) and have the whole thing burn down. I like this as a symbol - indeed, the houses we build are often traps and represent our own undoing - but the book split off in to too many odd parts after that, so that even if you could go along for the ride (and admittedly this is difficult for me, as Homes seems to want me to feel bad for people who seem to only feel bad for themselves, and anyway they all seem like morbid puppets so why should I care??) there are too many twists and turns to really stay with you as a story. So, anyway, they burn the house, but instead of feeling better they end up further messing up their marriage and children and whatever else.
I wonder about the following. First, is there a value to shock value, by which I mean, so many times I hear, "This was disturbing" or "This evoked a strong reaction so s/he gets credit for that" and I wonder if this is really true, like, is Homes a celebrated writer because she can really gross me out and perplex me with her unfeeling and mildly creepy characters? But shouldn't I like the people, or care, or root for them? I mean, what is talent? Is it making you feel, period, or is it making you feel something you like feeling?
The other thing is, this book made me reflect on the writers I love, specifically John Irving. What I love about John Irving, aside from his wit and literary prowess and beautiful language and you know everything else, is that he presents a fascinating world that is ALMOST entirely real except when it isn't. He gives us a slanted world that is quirky and strange yet oddly believable. Well, doesn't Homes do that, and yet Homes kind of disgusts me while John Irving makes me happy to be literate. So I guess it's not just the ability to "tell the truth but tell it slant" as much as it's... I don't know, still having something pulsing in your story that is human, rather than destroying everything that is? Or something?
This review (such as it is - thank you, Homes) would not be complete without saying what the bleep to the ending. Yeah. Really. What was that??? So if nothing else grabbed you, that ought to at least make you curious. I know I read through to the end in small part because of that.(less)

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Jan 27, 2009 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars

A.M. Homes writes from what I call a Suburban Surrealist bent. That is, what could sort-of, possibly happen in real life, but usually doesn't, and is weird, and wacky, and well, fascinating.

A.M. Homes is fabulous at creating a doll's house view of a nuclear family, and then dissecting the family from the inside out -- thoughts, feelings, and processes. Music for Torching is a bird's eye view of the couple, Paul and Elaine who smoke crack in their living room out of boredom. This couple was seen...more

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Nov 22, 2008 Julie rated it 3 of 5 stars

I find A.M. Homes' writing style very funny as opposed to annoying, which is my impression of most books I've read set in the suburbs with ANGST as their theme. Nothing in here approaches the sublime level of comedy found in "Adults Alone," where Paul and Elaine also appear, with the exception of maybe the first chapter, when they impulsively try (and somewhat succeed) to burn down their own house by kicking over the BBQ grill. I liked the "Nazi drunk" neighbor (as described by another character...more

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Nov 02, 2012 Makenzie Schultz rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm really torn in my opinion of this book. As more time goes by since I've finished it, as I think about it more, I like it better than I did when I had first finished it. When I first finished this book I was absolutely shocked by the outcome, I put the book down and was incredibly confused, and really upset. But I knew that I didn't dislike the book, I hadn't been able to put it down. A.M. Homes' style of writing is mesmerizing, and the characters are all just so terrible and so lifelike in t...more

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Apr 30, 2013 Edmole rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have been rewatching the Sopranos from the start. Like the Sopranos, this is a study of selfish kids of baby boomers who have themselves had kids who are now caught in the maelstrom of their indulgent selfishness. AM Homes first novel, Jack, is dark but hopeful, as are her last two, May We Be Forgiven and This Book Will Save Your Life. But there's no hope in this book. These are people who have everything they need and do most of what they want and don't enjoy it and don't know what to do with...more

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Jul 22, 2010 Bullet rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is exactly the kind of story that I love to read about and write about. Messed up relationships where the couple stays together anyway. Homes wrote this book as a follow-up to her short story "Adults Alone", which was in the book "The Safety of Objects". She began "Music for Torching" as another short story which ends with the couple burning their house down. But she kept going, and so that becomes to beginning of this novel. I admire that she kept pressing and exploring, simply because she...more

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Nov 20, 2009 Beverly rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: literary

A story about a typical suburban couple going quietly insane who end up setting their house on fire. The idea here is "looks good on the surface/going mad underneath" all to satirical effect. This very idea is a cliche. The book is cynical and unpleasant. DOes it escape the banality of so much contemporary fiction by women? Superficially, yes, but does it really? Not sure.

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Jul 20, 2009 Danceswithwords rated it 4 of 5 stars

A scalpel-sharp dissection of the isolation and discontent of suburban life, by turns darkly funny and heartbreaking. Holmes manages to create characters who do loathesome things and think loathesome thoughts but are still somehow sympathetic in their loss and confusion and inchoate longing for something different. The novel opens with an arson: Paul and Elaine set impulsively set fire to their house and run. But then they stop, half horrified and half fascinated by what they've done, and slowly...more

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Feb 24, 2012 Crckt rated it 3 of 5 stars

Yet another in a long in a long, growing tradition of (post?)modern fiction in which suburban, privileged white people must deal with the crushing weight of being suburban, privileged white people. The story revolves around a couple at their wits' end, trying to cope with the emptiness they feel towards, each other, their family, their friends and essentially their very beings. In their desperation to feel, and to come together, they attempt to torch their home. The book follows the period of ti...more

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Feb 07, 2011 Mark LaMountain rated it 3 of 5 stars

Why can't I give half-stars? This book doesn't deserve a 3, but a 2.5. I love the way she writes, and she develops extremely interesting characters. In this book she examines these people who could have the complete American dream, but they just can't do it, aren't fulfilled by it. Neat idea, but that's about as far as she goes with it- she develops the idea and discovers nothing new, nothing that hasn't been said before, and then she jumps ship, because I think she got tired of writing this boo...more

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Jun 21, 2010 Georgekhorozian rated it 2 of 5 stars

I read this book because I have friends who recommend it. Unfortunately, I can't share their enthusiasm. Beside the characters seeming no more than paper charactures, and all-too trendy ones at that, I could find no purpose to making art of their lives. It's not as if the ennui and hypocrisy of the suburban middleclass hasn't been written about before. If this book appeared in the 1960s, I could understand all the accolades it's received. (Who can forget Charles Webb's searing portrayal of the p...more

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May 09, 2013 Anna Janelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: once-was-enough-but-thanks

I've been sitting on this review for several weeks now because, honestly, I didn't know what to make of it. I'm still debating the three-star rating that I've given out because I feel that it is deserving of both more and less stars. Ultimately, I didn't "like it" as the rating may suggest. I hated it. It made my skin crawl. It made me uncomfortable. It was a disturbing, unsettling portrait of one of the worst marriages (and examples of parenting) that I've had the misfortune to read. I read this, literally, a week after committing to my own marriage vows, and Paul and Elaine managed to scared this bejesus out of me and disgust me at the same time. I had to put down the book and distance myself from their complete narcissism, their never-ending, masochistic struggles to injure each other, their successful attempts at alienating their children and destroying their family. It was painful to read. It left me questioning my sanity. After reading a book like this, who in their right mind would get married. (Luckily, I love my husband - and I've come to the realization that our lives could never come to this - to the determination they WILL NOT come to this *shudder*)

Extramarital affairs. Kinky sex. Cross-dressing. Arson. A unfulfilling job. A homemaker's desire to break free. The cold, hard, hate of a marriage fallen flat. All the while, the children falling through the cracks. All the makings of typical midlife crises here - but presented on a horrifying pornographic scale by none other than the queen of shock and discomfort, A.M. Holmes. And that is exactly what made it so good. She's a genius at disrupting traditional reading experiences, at making the reader squirm. And as a newlywed, squirm I did, squirm I did. There's beauty in her ability to expose the dishonorable, the dis-likeable, the disturbing. But there is no beauty in these characters. And no beauty in the ending. Because, really,

NOOOSquirrel

I can't spoil it. It's a whirlwind of a shocker. Nothing you can't say wasn't laid out to occur, but still rather jawdropping when Holmes manages to take it there. The one, pure, happy, good thing this book had - was no longer by the end of the book. This ending, along with the other icky feelings this book provoked, will most likely ensure that I place this on my "dear-lord-jesus-never-again" reading list. It was worth the first read; there is no doubt that Holmes is an excellent author with the ability to provoke knee-jerk reactions from her readers. I just can't subject myself to this level of unmitigated depravity again.
(less)

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Mar 05, 2009 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2007, fiction

eh. i HATED the main characters. that was the point, but i still fucking hated them. reading it was annoying and bordered on unbelieveable (but maybe i’m just more responsible than the average person). not keeping this one.

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Jun 22, 2012 Mircalla64 (free Liu Xiaobo) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: postmoderni

prove generali di immaturità

Paul e Elaine erano già infantili in La Sicurezza degli oggetti,
qua sono ancora così, ma anche più criminali di prima

danno fuoco a casa loro nei primi passaggi del romanzo, poi passano i successivi momenti a prendere le misure di ciò che hanno fatto...
a me sembra che l'infelicità e l'immaturità di questi due vada di pari passo, come se fosse impossibile crescere e impossibile restare così a metà, una volta sbolognati i figli a casa di amici, Elaine odia l'impassibile...more

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Dec 02, 2012 Jocelyn Gallardo rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hace mucho tiempo que no me encontraba con personajes tan "oscuros" como los que nos presenta Homes en este libro. Tengo que decir que me encanta la forma en cómo se escribe. La historia gira en torno a las relaciones primarias y secundarias de una familia típica americana y sus pensamientos y deseos "no tan ocultos" y sus sueños que no se cumplen. Por desgracia, Homes no nos enseña nada nuevo, nada que no se haya dicho antes, y al final, como en un intento desesperado de terminar el libro, nos...more

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Feb 14, 2012 Simone Subliminalpop rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Una famiglia che non riesce a sistemare la propria vita, ma nemmeno a decidere di darci un taglio, e allora cerca di dare fuoco deliberatamente alla propria casa, fallendo miseramente anche in quello e trovandosi così ad affrontare ancora più da vicino le ceneri dei propri inutili sforzi, finendo in una spirale di follia sempre più claustrofobica.
Un classica famiglia borghese americana e tante altre per vicini o amici, a distanza di giardino curato e barbecue rigorosamente di serie, tra le quali...more

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Apr 28, 2012 Cynthia rated it 2 of 5 stars

I'm only saying this was 'okay' because the book was well written and there were the odd amusing moments. I didn't enjoy the story; it was basically a series of "poor me" moments that culminated in an event that I thought was awful and unnecessary. I didn't enjoy the characters, again because they were all so pre-occupied with feeling sorry for themselves, despite their largely cushy lives. The characters are awful to themselves and to each other.

I realise that this is the point of the book - t...more

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Jun 19, 2012 Lilia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Yes, she is fearless. But, if all of Homes's books are this disturbed I don't know if I can stomach another one. I was torn because I could not empathize with the main characters, Paul and Elaine, but was drawn into their dysfunctional world and marriage, nonetheless. Homes covers alot of dark territory in her take on suburbia. Overall, it was quite an interesting read with a VERY upsetting/shocking conclusion. This is not a book for everyone. Very heavy stuff. I'll try to read her collection of...more

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Jun 20, 2011 Joy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

This book will not end how you expect it to. That's all I can say. Despite some slow places in the middle, her prose is addictive from page one. Aside from all the infidelity and misery we've come to expect from tales of modern suburban couples, Holmes really seems to capture the intimacy, even the tenderness, that can make two people who otherwise detest one another stay. The book is funny, absurd even, and the utterly shocking heartbreak of the denouement builds subtly, on the fringes of the n...more

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Mar 20, 2012 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm kind of embarrassed by how much I enjoyed this. It has so many faults and yet, I was completely rapt for forty-eight hours; I had anxiety-filled dreams about Elaine and Pat.

So, right: here is the unhappy American family, the modern depraved marriage, of Carver, Cheever, and Updike. But Homes' prose is sexy and brilliant in a way that theirs is not (Updike, we can agree is especially unsexy). Provocative & cinematic, the biting little telegraphs propel the story along well-enough, but th...more

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May 13, 2013 Katrina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Don't pick up this book unless you intend on investing the entire day to it. Pick a comfy chair at the coffee shop, buy a large coffee and a muffin, and dig in.

Homes is the kind of author that is not afraid to show us how ugly people can be. This book is no exception. The characters are so desperate to make things right, to make things normal and functional, that it takes a complete tragedy to push them into doing something about it that isn't covering it up.

It isn't hard to see yourself, your...more

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Aug 03, 2009 Amy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Dark, dark, dark. And I'm not one for cheery feel-good books, but man, this one really brought me down. I was interested in the characters and caught up in the plot, so yes, the writing is good. I like the whole "American Beauty" concept of the truth behind the suburban facade, which I why I wanted to read the book. But there just seemed to be no redemption whatsoever for anyone involved in the story, and I grew to despise most of the characters. I'm torn on whether I'll read anything else by Ho...more

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About A.M. Homes

A.M. Homes is the author of the novels, This Book Will Save Your Life, Music For Torching, The End of Alice, In a Country of Mothers, and Jack, as well as the short-story collections, Things You Should Know and The Safety of Objects, the travel memoir, Los Angeles: People, Places and The Castle on the Hill, and the artist's book Appendix A: An Elaboration on the Novel the End of Alice.

In April of...more A.M. Homes is the author of the novels, This Book Will Save Your Life, Music For Torching, The End of Alice, In a Country of Mothers, and Jack, as well as the short-story collections, Things You Should Know and The Safety of Objects, the travel memoir, Los Angeles: People, Places and The Castle on the Hill, and the artist's book Appendix A: An Elaboration on the Novel the End of Alice.

In April of 2007 Viking published her long awaited memoir, The Mistress's Daughter, the story of the author being "found" by her biological family, and a literary exploration and investigation of identity, adoption and genealogical ties that bind.

Her work has been translated into eighteen languages and appears frequently in Art Forum, Harpers, Granta, McSweeney's, The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Zoetrope. She is a Contributing Editor to Vanity Fair, Bomb and Blind Spot.

She has been the recipient of numerous awards including Fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, NYFA, and The Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at The New York Public Library, along with the Benjamin Franklin Award, and the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis.

In addition she has been active on the Boards of Directors of Yaddo, The Fine Arts Work Center In Provincetown, The Writers Room, and PEN-where she chairs both the membership committee and the Writers Fund. Additionally she serves on the Presidents Council for Poets and Writers.

A.M. Homes was a writer/producer of the hit television show The L Word in 2004-2005 and wrote the adaptation of her first novel JACK, for Showtime. The film aired in 2004 and won an Emmy Award for Stockard Channing. Director Rose Troche's film adaptation of The Safety of Objects was released in 2003, and Troche is currently developing In A Country of Mothers as well. Music For Torching is in development with director Steven Shainberg with a script by Buck Henry, and This Book Will Save Your Life is in Development with Stone Village Pictures.

Born in Washington D.C., she now lives in New York City.(less)

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title link	preview: Music for Torching
avg rating	preview: Music for Torching Goodreads rating: 3.69 (1780 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/75480.Music_for_Torching?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348714346l/75480.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/75480.Music_for_Torching?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Music for Torching by A.M. Homes[/url]

Music for Torching

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