Twenty years earlier, Jonathan Rebeck abandoned his job as a neighborhood druggist and retreated behind the gates of the sprawling Yorkchester cemetery. There, a profane raven delivers his meals, and Rebeck spends his days working out chess moves, flirting with the widow Klapper, and offering friendship and understanding to the newly deceased as they make the aching transition from living to dead.



Rebeck sees himself as “helpful,” but soon this perception is challenged with the arrival of Michael (a possible suicide in denial) and Laura (a “plain Jane,” when living), a couple who wish only to share time and the state of being, in their lonesome graveyard world.



“A Fine and Private Place” captures the innocence of a children’s story, but keeps one foot firmly planted in the adult world as it explores the fleeting moments of its flawed and odd ball characters.



"There are no happy endings, because nothing ever ends." *



* from "A Fine and Private Place."

The cemetery setting is a mossy marble stillpoint inside a vast city.

NA

I keep the novel as a lifetime companion. This is my third reading of a brown and brittle copy purchased in 1976 for $1.25, and it quietly pleases me each time.

This book made me feel connected to a softer, kinder layer of life that exists below the silly, loud and noisey strata presented in most pop culture and media.

Peter S. Beagle is an imaginative author best known for penning "The Last Unicorn."

The tale is charming, original and warms the spirit like a creamy cup of coffee on a rainy spring day.

For those with a taste for the spectacular, this may not be for you. The fantasy elements remain on the fringe. Ultimately, this is more an examination of the human heart.

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Created May 05, 2003 at 4:19pm • Submit your own review...