Feast on Faust in this agile and buxom tale.
The prologue to American Faust begins with a monumental scene in a grand theater play. In this opening sequence, Lord and Devil make a deal for the fate and future of some unsuspecting souls. The body of the novel then pivots to a bizarre residence dubbed the Estate Without Time. The estate is practically perfect, with everything anyone could want. Here, integral players are introduced, although it is quite the journey to fully realize the importance of this first encounter between Lawrence, James and a reticent and enigmatic woman. The ensuing story follows this captivating woman and her family, a more contemporary James with his real-world problems, Lawrence and his complicated history and, periodically, the more otherworldly elements borrowed from traditional Faust. The limits of time are tested at the estate and are disregarded at the glimpses of stage play interspersed with more traditional prose. Greed, lust, passion, indulgence, domination and objectification are all central to this fast-moving story as readers discern what is happening at the Estate Without Time.
Feast on Faust in this agile and buxom tale. More than a just clever retelling, this captivating novel possesses an abundance of vitality and originality. American Faust has an air of mystique, a compelling aura that will have readers feeling as though they’re reading something on the edge of cognizance. A fitting modern homage to timeless classic literature, Rip Brown is able to match and expand on the elegance of a bygone era by evoking a rich literary heritage. The themes are familiar, but the quantum leaps in time will keep readers on their toes. A wide-reaching and perplexing cast brave an erratic pace, eventually emerging as the drivers of this story, emblematic of so many of humanity’s woes. While the dialogue is bumpy and sparse in the beginning, as personalities develop and the story is fleshed out, these conversations become crucial to the arc of this ingenious story. Ancient Faustian folklore tackles American convention in Rip Brown’s delightfully disorienting novel, American Faust.
