Rebecca's Reviews > Undermajordomo Minor

What The Sisters Brothers did for the Western, this does for the Gothic fairytale. It’s not quite as fun or successful as the previous book, but has a nicely campy Dracula or Jane Eyre feel. Lucien “Lucy” Minor survived pneumonia thanks to a folk figure (view spoiler)[the devil? (hide spoiler)] who transferred the illness to his father. Now of age, this compulsive liar sets out to find adventure and romance as the undermajordomo of a castle in the quaint German countryside. Here he meets pickpockets, a periodically insane baron, a randy maiden, and a strapping rival who’s a soldier in the absurdist local conflict.

DeWitt’s understated humor is not as clearly on display here, though I did like the description of a pet bird as “deeply antisocial.” There’s also, strangely, quite a bit of sex – boy, does that (view spoiler)[orgy (hide spoiler)] scene come out of nowhere. Read it if you like your Brothers Grimm with a splash of silliness and a whole lot of lasciviousness.