From
the inside flap:
“Harlowe,
New Hampshire, is a rural township still isolated from the pressures and
changes of the second half of the twentieth century. It is here that John Moore
works the land farmed by his family for centuries, here that he lives with his
wife and daughter, and here that he expects to die when his life’s work is
done. But from the moment that a magnetic stranger named Perly Dunsmore arrives
in the community and begins a series of auctions to raise money for the growth
of the local police force, the days of John Moore’s freedom and independence
are suddenly numbered.
“Page
after page, the reader is trapped with John Moore in the grip of chilling
horror as he is relentlessly stripped of his possessions, his ability to
resist, his courage, and his hope by the ever-growing power and demands of the
auctioneer. What was initially a minor nuisance, then an infuriating intrusion,
now becomes for John Moore a desperate, seemingly doomed battle against a force
that has already corrupted all of Harlowe and is now systematically destroying
it.”
Review
Auctioneer is a
steady build, excellent and near-perfect read, a simply stated metaphor for how
people will kowtow under a legalized─even if it is oppressive─system. To say I
enjoyed it might be a stretch, for it is also an endurance test, frustrating
given the menace displayed toward, and dignities heaped upon, some of its
characters. This would be one of my all-time favorite books, were it not for
its spot-it-from-miles-away, bulls**t end twist (also spoiling an otherwise effective
climactic finish). I understand that Samson is following through on her people-are-cowards-until-they’re-not
metaphor with this ending but maybe she should have been more concerned with
wrapping up Auctioneer is a satisfying manner.
If you can accept its flawed denouement, Auctioneer is worth reading.
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