A Fine and Private Place is haunted yet humorous. It takes place in a cemetery yet has a talking black bird (a sarcastic one at that). The dead have issues with remembering yet have no problem complaining to the living man lurking in their midst. That man would be Mr. Rebeck, the one time druggist who now spends his days (and nights) in a New York cemetery. In fact, he hasn't left the grounds in nearly twenty years. A Fine and Private Place delves into what it means to have a soul, even if it gets lost from time to time. It's the story of different relationships struggling to make it despite the differences. Throughout the story there are minor mysteries. Why, for example, is Mr. Rebeck living in the cemetery? Did Michael Malone's wife really murder him? What's with the talking bird? Don't expect a lot of action from A Fine and Private Place. The majority of the story is filled with introspective musings and the plot is centered on character development and how those characters interact with one another. ( )

A beautiful story of haunting love. Michael Morgan wakes up in a coffin at his own funeral. Turns out he is dead and is wife is suspected of poisoning and murdering him. He meets Mr Rebeck who is an alive ghost haunting and living in the cemetary with a raven that keeps him in food. He has taken himself away from life after he went bankrupt and lost his pharmacy business. It is up to Mr Rebeck to teach Michael about death and being a ghost.

Death is not the end for Michael. Ghosts lose their memories over time including human mannerisms like walking on the ground properly, but Michael is determined to keep himself together. He meets Laura, another recent ghost who was hit by a car. She had thought about sucicide when alive but never went through with it. It also seems that Mr Rebeck has another chance at a more usual life when he meets widow Mrs Klapper who may be able to help him come back to the world.

This was such a beautiful book. The language was consuming somehow, really pulling me in. I loved Beagle's ideas of death and what happens after we die. His characters were really interesting and there were some great surprises throughout the story. It's a ghost story but more a look at humanity and what makes a person. Highly recommended ( )

Unique and beautiful fantasy.

This book is a fantasy, a mystery, a love story, and an affirmation of life all rolled into one. A sweet tale, all told, though it occasionally dragged into the maudlin, and some of the character's were frustratingly, stubbornly teenager-like, for old men. Still, I must say, I am always a sucker for a book featuring a talking raven, so I suppose it would be hard for me not to like it. I'm glad this book was recommended to me (thanks Tanuki), and as I hear that this is Beagle's weakest work, I will be sure to look for some more of his.

Excelsior! ( )

Jonathan Rebeck is a loner, a misfit in the modern world, an old-school pharmacist who fails in his business and retires, broke and unwanted, to live in a graveyard mausoleum, in Yorkchester, New York. His instinct towards helping hasn’t died out, except that now, he helps the dead pass to the other world. Some sort of ragged, fallen-from-grace Charon, he talks to the dead, he plays chess with them, until they forget this world and move on into unbeing. One early summer, and a few days apart Michael and Laura are buried, and a Mrs. Klapper comes to visit her husband Morris….and by the end of August, Rebeck will start a new life. I’d rather not say how…[ too much to miss, Mr. Beagle's book is definetly worth a few hours of anyone's time]…but maybe I’ll give one hint: love will catch you anywhere :) Sound cheesy? Maybe, but not here, not in this fine and private place.

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