The Gilmore Guide to Books

Connecting Books and Readers One Review at a Time

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Reviews
    • Reviews by Author
    • Reviews by Title
    • Reviews by Genre
  • Podcast
  • Policies
    • Review Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Policy

The Arsonist

July 25, 2014

The Arsonist by Sue Miller
Publication date: June 24, 2014
three-stars

arsonist 

In Sue Miller’s The Arsonist Frankie Rowley has returned to the small town of Pomeroy, New Hampshire- a beach town where she spent summers with her family and where her parents, Alylvia and Alfie, have now retired. She has left behind her life in Africa where she spent years working for an organization that helps feed children. She hopes that a quiet summer at the beach will clear her head and help her decide what to do. When struck with jet lag her first night home she takes a walk in the early morning hours and is surprised when a car drives by on one of the remote lanes near her house. When she learns the next day that an empty house burned down in the night she wonders about what she may have seen.

Within short order, several unoccupied houses in the area have burned down but in The Arsonist this action is only one small part of the story. Miller’s skill and finesse mean that as this story unfolds she has the literary wherewithal to write of much deeper, intimate issues that, while they progress more slowly, are no less damaging and difficult than an out-of-control fire. Sylvia is the first to notice that Alfie who, with his fickle thirst for new knowledge has always been a challenge,

She had come to understand how distractible he was, which she hadn’t noticed at first. How he was always hurrying to the next universe to read about, to master, but never quite deeply enough. 

is now forgetting more than he remembers. His moods shift and simple things like directions become complicated. Their retirement is still new and fragile and so she says nothing but later when Frankie has a conversation with her father he admits that he isn’t being honest with Sylvia and wonders

 “It raises the question, doesn’t it: when a person is changing, as I am, at what point are they no longer who they were?” 

This change, as slow moving as it may be unleashes a slew of emotions in Sylvia. She, too, was looking forward to retirement but with a husband who will require constant care and supervision can she even retire? And how would she work and look after this man’s needs? What would retirement even mean with a man who is becoming a stranger?

Sylvia is not alone in life changes. Frankie finds herself navigating a new relationship with the local paper’s owner and editor. Her plan of simplifying and figuring out her life is disrupted by this man.

It is Miller’s knack for delving into the personal lives of her characters in the face of larger situations that provides an important contrast for the reader. Even as disaster occurs there are small human stories evolving. The Arsonist stays so true to life that it is not always certain where things are going. Well into the novel there is a turn of events that is completely plausible in life and does not feel contrived but for which there is no expected outcome. The reader is simply along for the ride in the lives of these characters. This ambiguity can be disconcerting but the ride is still worth taking.

 

This book can be purchased online at:


The Elliott Bay Book Company

three-stars

Related Posts

  • Related Posts
  • Same Genre
  • 3 Star Books
  • By Sue Miller
young god
Young God: A Novel
Loner: A Novel
museum
The Museum of Extraordinary Things
station eleven
Station Eleven: A Novel
landslide
Landslide: A Novel by Susan Conley
did you ever have a family
Did You Ever Have a Family
fourth wing
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
girlchild
Girlchild by Tupelo Hassman
Plainsong
Plainsong
The Orphan Master's Son
Darker: The Orphan Master’s Son
talking
Talking at Night
Rare Objects: A Novel
fat
Fat Girl on a Plane
invisible hour
The Invisible Hour
woke up lonely
Woke Up Lonely: A Novel
monogamy
Monogamy: A Novel by Sue Miller

3 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary fiction, Knopf, literary, New England

Comments

  1. Ann @ Books on the Table says

    July 25, 2014 at 5:21 am

    Great review! I loved The Arsonist — the characters were very well drawn. My only quibble with the book was that I thought if these fires were happening in real life, people would be far more hysterical than they were in the novel.

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      July 25, 2014 at 10:10 am

      Agreed! I think it was partially the fact that they were vacationers and not townies- which was bit of an issue in the book.

      Reply
  2. Tanya says

    July 26, 2014 at 12:48 pm

    I’m starting to hear a few good things about this book. I’m keeping my eye on it but still haven’t decided if I will read it or not.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Goodreads
  • Instagram

Save time and subscribe via email

No time to keep checking for new reviews? Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email. No spam!

Bookshop

Currently Reading

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
by Emily Nagoski
The Dutch House
The Dutch House
by Ann Patchett
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
by Adrienne Brodeur

goodreads.com

Affiliate Disclosure

I’m an affiliate for Bookshop. If you click on a link that takes you to their site and make a purchase I’ll earn a small fee, which goes towards the costs of maintaining this site. Your support is appreciated. Thank you!

Archives

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Theme Design By Studio Mommy · Copyright © 2025

Copyright © 2025 · Beyond Madison Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in