The Muse Asylum

Wow! This book was astoundingly good. It had everything I love in a book...an intelligent story, food for thought, good plot twists, and characters I liked.

The story was about an elusive author by the name of Horace Jacob Little whose books were brilliant but contained absolutely no information about the author himself. At the beginning of the book, Jake Burnett was approached by Lara, his former girlfriend and previous fellow student at Princeton to deliver a letter to her ex-boyfriend Andrew who had been hospitalized after having developed paranoid schizophrenia. Andrew's descent into madness was characterized by the thought that Horace Jacob Little was plotting to kill him.

For a debut novel, I was very taken with how easily I was show more captivated by this story. Two things struck me. The first was that I was really drawn into how Andrew's mental illness developed. It seemed to be very realistic. The second was that the story was about the friendship between two people who used to have been boyfriend-girlfriend. It contained the wistfulness of Jake's not having been able to keep the girl to which he was attracted and how he learned to live with that fact. It just seems like something that has happened to all of us but is seldom written about because it's sort of anti-climactic. I just liked the way this author did that. show less

Perhaps when you’re mentored by Joyce Carol Oates, you are destined for greatness. I think that’s the case for young writer, David Czuchlewski, who nailed a fantastic story in his debut novel, The Muse Asylum.

Jake Burnett is a recent Princeton grad, assigned by his newspaper editor to discover the secret identity of famed writer, Horace Jacob Little. Little has lived a J.D. Salinger-like life. He is totally secluded, never been photographed and will not grant media interviews. Burnett has his work cut out for him.

While at a party, he stumbles into an old flame, Lara, who asks for his help in passing along a letter to her old boyfriend, Andrew, who is institutionalized at “The Muse Asylum” – a psychiatric hospital for the show more creatively gifted. Andrew, while at Princeton, became obsessed with Horace Jacob Little’s writing. In his thesis, Andrew proposed that the real Little was killed shortly after publishing his first works and that an imposter was writing under Little’s name for many years. Having discovered Little’s “secret,” Andrew spirals into paranoid delusion, believing that Little is out to get him, sending spies to follow him around campus and tapping his phone and dorm room.

Czuchlewski’s story takes you through the mind of Andrew, which I found very fascinated. Andrew’s obsession with Little destroyed his college career, love life and ability to function in society. His mental illness is depicted with love and sympathy. I found myself rooting for Andrew to find the magic formula of medicine and therapy to help him.

The Muse Asylum is an exhilarating ride. I finished it in about three sittings; I was so enthralled with the story line that I had a hard time putting it down. I will warn you that there are several literary allusions in this novel, and I found having my laptop around with Wikipedia launched was very helpful, especially with the references to the poetry of Dante and Wilfred Owen. If you like shock endings (Jodi Picoult) or psychological mysteries (Chuck Palahniuk), you will love The Muse Asylum. But even if don’t, I would still recommend The Muse Asylum. It’s a great book from a promising young author. show less

By the time you finish this book, you will begin to wonder if there really is a david czuchlewski and whether or not he really did write this book! Oh my. What a great story. Couldn't stop reading it, couldn't put it down.

Basically, the story is about Jake Burnett, a writer for a newspaper called the Ledger, Andrew Wallace, Andrew's girlfriend Lara Knowles and a reclusive writer named Horace Jacob Little. The first three went to Princeton at the same time, and Horace Jacob Little was the favorite author of both Burnett & Wallace. Little was so reclusive that his book covers were blank and there was no biographical information inside the dust jacket. He was a writer of great reputation, very much honored, winner of multiple nominations & show more prizes for his fiction. At some point in his career, however, his writing changed 180 degrees. Andrew, while at Princeton, decided to do his senior thesis on Horace Jacob Little, and after a very careful reading of one of his major works, decided that the reason for the change was that the writer of this novel who called himself Horace Jacob Little was not Horace Jacob Little at all, but someone who had killed the author and taken his place. After all, if no one really (including his agent & publisher) had ever seen Horace Jacob Little, then who would be the wiser? This project becomes Andrew's obsession, and along with obsession, he begins to become paranoid, seeing conspiracies within conspiracies, etc. Eventually an act based on frustration lands him at the Overlook Psychiatric Institute, an institution for those who are gifted in the creative arts who have some type of nervous problems. It is there that Andy starts writing his "Confessions," an autobiographical project. This work is interspersed throughout the novel in between Jake's telling of events that happened to him that intertwine with Andrew's. A wonderful wonderful web is woven by Czuchlewski here. To classify the novel, I would call it a "literary mystery," centered on the work in question by Little, but truly, it goes well beyond the standard mystery type novel.

Recommended for serious readers; those who want a quick novel with warm fuzzies & a clear cut explanation need not bother reading this book. show less

To say that Horace Jacob Little is elusive is putting it mildly. This literary icon has remained anonymous throughout his career - not even his publisher knows his real identity. Two of his greatest followers meet up again after their paths crossed at Princeton, when they both fell in love with the same woman. One of these men now resides in the Muse Asylum - a psychiatric facility for the artistically gifted; the other is a reporter seeking to uncover Little's true identity.

I liked this book a lot. Czuchlewski has carefully crafted an intricate tale of love, literature, obsession, and reality. This is one of those books where you try to prolong the reading pleasure, and when the end does come, you want to start it all over again. show more Highly recommended. show less

After "The Nixie's Song," I really needed to pick up and read something that would get the bad taste out of my mouth and I certainly did with "The Muse Asylum." Recommended to me by Jill (Mrstreme) who knows my taste in books so well, I quickly immersed myself in the words of this first-time author who had been mentored by Joyce Carol Oates (although I personally don't care for her writing, I knew that the writing had to be top notch). The telling of the story alternates between journalist Jake Burnett and the writings of Andrew Wallace who just happens to be the resident of a psychiatric hospital. Both men's lives have been affected by a reclusive author by the name of Horace Jacob Little who no one has ever seen, nor has the author show more ever granted an interview. Both men also are in love with the same woman, Lara Knowles. The author takes you on a journey of discovery for both men that leaves the reader with a satisfying end to the tale...can't say too much more...just know that if you have enjoyed "The Keep" and most any Chuck Palahniuk book you will not be disappointed. show less

I have read this book 3 or 4 times now, and it's still so great. The characters, the writing, the plot. I love it all.