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Title: How to Set a Fire and Why
Subtitle: A Novel
Author: Jesse Ball
Narrator: Emma Galvin
Format: Unabridged
Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
Language: English
Release date: 07-05-16
Publisher: Random House Audio
Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 38 votes
Genres: Fiction, Literary
Publisher's Summary:
How to Set a Fire and Why, Jesse Ball's singular, blistering new novel, tells the story of a teenage girl who has lost everything - and will burn anything.
Lucia's father is dead, her mother is in a mental hospital, and she's living in a garage-turned-bedroom with her aunt. And now she's been kicked out of school - again. Making her way through the world with only a book, a Zippo lighter, a pocketful of stolen licorice, a biting wit, and the striking intelligence that she tries to hide, Lucia spends her days riding the bus to visit her mother and following the only rule that makes any sense to her: Don't do things you aren't proud of.
But when she discovers that her new school has a secret Arson Club, she's willing to do anything to be a part of it, and her life is suddenly lit up. As Lucia's fascination with the Arson Club grows, her story becomes one of misguided friendship and, ultimately, destruction.
Critic Reviews:
"Jesse Ball began his writing career as a poet, which explains a lot. His novels Silence Once Begun and A Cure for Suicide are both spare and elliptical, frog-hopping from scene to scene, making stories that aren't plot-driven into page-turners. How to Set a Fire and Why seems to be no exception; it's told by a teenage protagonist who can't manage to stay in school in spite of her knack for seeing straight through to the truth that underlies things. She's a lovable misfit worth hanging out with." (Maddie Crum, The Huffington Post)
"Lucia is a seriously troubled teen girl, ready to burn it all to the ground, who has her world entirely changed when she discovers the Arson Club at her new school. Covering questions of morality, choice, and destruction, the novel hits a chord with the rebellious, feeling, overwhelmed teen in all of us." (Elena Sheppard, HelloGiggles)
"Jesse Ball has written an unforgettably memorable character in the pyromaniac Lucia, who anyone who was once a cynical teenager will recognize and relate to." (Jarry Lee, Buzzfeed)
Members Reviews:
A very thought-provoking book. Plan to get my 16 ...
A very thought-provoking book. Plan to get my 16 year old granddaughter a copy. Due to the language, she's got to promise that she won't mention that her grandmother got it for her.
I love Jesse Ball's other novels and poems
I love Jesse Ball's other novels and poems, but I was expecting more here. The voice felt inconsistent and unsure of itself, and a little bit...derivative? I read Ball's work to be surprised - and will probably continue to purchase everything he writes - but this one fell way short for me.
I was very disappointed by this book
I was very disappointed by this book. Ball's previous works had such beautiful, evocative language. They lacked narrative drive but the intricate construction of word and phrase carried you along. Since this book purports to be written by a teenage narrator it can't have that same style that made Ball so special. I could see this book catching on in high school or college literature classes that celebrate the antihero- a 21st century Catcher in the Rye. It just wasn't my thing
Author's Creativity Abounds
The most creative novel I've read this year (and I read a lot!). The protagonist is unique, a complex troubled teenager, obsessed with fire.
