“I once set fire to the woods . . .”

Ever since reading these words I cannot get them out of my mind. These are words of Henry David Thoreau, and author John Pipkin uses this1850 entry in Thoreau’s journal as inspiration for his debut novel Woodsburner.

Taking off from Thoreau’s explanation in his journal of how he accidentally set fire to the woods while trying to cook up some fish chowder, Pipkin imagines how this 300 acre fire affected the villagers in the surrounding area. The characters are unforgettable: the Norwegian farmhand named Oddmund who dearly longs for his employer’s wife but can only admire her undergarments on the clothesline; the bookstore owner and desperately aspiring playwright named Eliot who is constantly noting pithy statements at any point during the day; Caleb, the fire and brimstone preacher and opium addict.

There are other equally memorable characters in the novel, and all are affected greatly by the fire including Henry David Thoreau. Like many of us, you might have dozed a little while attempting to read Walden for your American Literature class in college. Although Pipkin’s novel revolves around an event in Thoreau’s life, trust me you will not be dozing. Miraculously, I immediately went to the bookshelf in Lemuria to search for Thoreau’s journal writing to find the actual full account of the fire, to look for maps that would show where Fair Haven Hill is located, to reconsider this odd man who, with his father, created some of the finest pencils in the United States at that time.

Pipkin skillfully develops the characters chapter by chapter with increasing complexity, employing all to illustrate the “Young America” of the 1850s while suddenly and refreshingly showing Thoreau to be a fascinating individual worthy of reconsideration.

Can you tell that I loved this book?

“I once set fire to the woods . . . It was a glorious spectacle, and I was the only one there to enjoy it.”
The Journal of Henry David Thoreau, June, 1850

Really? What kind of person would make such a statement?  Pick up your copy of Woodsburner April 28 at Lemuria.

We are honored to have John Pipkin for a signing and reading at Lemuria on Tuesday, May 12 at 5 p.m. We are also pleased to have Woodsburner as our First Editions Club pick for April.

Check out www.walden.org (The Thoreau Institute) for all of the works of Henry David Thoreau, beautiful photographs of Walden taken during Thoreau’s lifetime, information about conservation projects in Walden Woods, and curious photographs of the Thoreau pencil. (All photos included in this blog are from the archives at www.walden.org.)

Also, www.johnpipkin.com has an author bio and reviews of Woodsburner.

View from Fair Haven Hill: Thoreau witnessed the “glorious spectacle” from the top of Fair Haven Hill.

Hello Everyone!

Well we have made the big time!!  Check out this great story on CNN MONEY.com.  Lemuria is mentioned in it!  We do have some great local business here in Jackson, MS! Make sure you read the entire story it talks about all the great things that are going on in town.  Click on the photo gallery and you can see all the local business mentioned!

Hope to see you soon!

Maggie

Our good friend Willie King passed away on Sunday. There are no words to express how sad we are. I’ve put a few of our favorite pictures below – if you have any you would like for me to post please email them to the store and I’ll post them. Also, here is a video. A link to Willie’s website and more video on the Highway 61 Radio website.

Jayne Anne Phillips will be signing copies of her latest book, Lark and Termite, at Lemuria Wednesday, March 11th, at five o’clock.  Phillips’ first book in nine years, Lark and Termite is a stunning novel that revolves around the title characters, Lark, a young woman who is beginning to find her place in the world, and Termite, her autistic brother.  They live with their aunt in a rundown West Virginia town where regular flooding seems to be the biggest source of excitement, but where ghosts and secrets from the past are seething just under the surface of things.

The novel’s events span four days in July in the 1950s, and each day is shared by the voices of the characters.  Phillips even invites the reader into Termite’s mind, and this is where her writing really shines–through Termite’s eyes the world is simultaneously sharpened and submerged underwater.  From the first chapter you will be drawn into all of the characters’ inner worlds, where you will find that though disappointment is pervasive, somehow an abundance of hope has been allotted to them as well.

Hey, mystery and dog lovers out there, have I found a delectable late night read that’s got a low key, slightly life- battered detective named Bernie and his K9 counterpart Chet.  This is the first of the Chet and Bernie series.  A teenager gets kidnapped, Chet gets dognapped and spends some harrowing hours in an animal shelter, bikers spin across the desert with Chet fastened behind the burliest of them all.  Bernie has put out big signs all over the place for his lost dog.  In the meantime, the plot simmers with the drama of the missing 16-year-old and some unsavory characters who might just have sequestered her in a mansion in the woods.  Maybe.  I’m not through with the book.  Lights out time is 8:48 pm at the Hall House.  This book had me up past midnight last night and eager to befriend its pages again this cold evening.  This articulately construed mystery is good stuff and not some sentimental fluff about a man and his dog.  I recommend Dog On It to all our dedicated mystery readers, to people who are tired of the same ole formulaic mystery, to people who like a book written from a different point of view, and to anyone who likes to read for pleasure.

-Pat