House of Flesh
by Bruno Fischer
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Description
All-star athlete Harry Wilde retreats to a remote rural village to escape the pain of a failed marriage and the recent loss of the national basketball championship. Seeking only peace of mind, he soon finds himself entangled in an intense and demeaning love affair with a strange and sullen woman whose primal power holds control over his most basic desires. Unable to stop himself from wandering down a path of darkness, the only thing that will save him is his instinct for survival. With its show more menacing undercurrents of psychological tor-ment, HOUSE OF FLESH crosses the boundaries of crime fiction and strays into the murkier depths of horror. This landmark crime novel is available again for the first time in many years. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Very atmospheric and memorable work by a truly talented writer. Don't be mislead by the description on the cover - it greatly misrepresents the story, as is typical of these types of books. I'm referring to the 1950s version - the more current reprint probably describes the book more accurately. In any case, Fischer tells a compelling story of a pro basketball player who gets mixed up with a true femme fatale during an off-season "rest" in a small town. It's good that the title character is definitely flawed both morally and in his judgment. The only false note is the offer of a possible conventional happy ending on the last page - but that seems so inconsistent with the dark tone of the rest of the book, that I'm just choosing to show more ignore it. The leading character isn't a bad guy, but he hasn't earned his happiness quite yet. show less
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342 works; 6 members
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Author Information
41+ Works 587 Members
Awards and Honors
Notable Lists
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1950
- People/Characters
- Harry Wilde; Polly Wellman; Dr. Kenneth Doane; Lela Doane
- Important places
- North Set
- Epigraph
- If the heats of hate and lust
In the house of flesh are strong,
Let me mind the house of dust
Where my sojourn shall be long.
From A Shropshire Lad by A. E. Housman - First words
- I lay on the lawn and watched Conrad Hickey paint a nude.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"I'll be waiting, Harry."
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 25
- Popularity
- 1,075,315
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.63)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 2
- ASINs
- 3
