A Fine and Private Place
by Peter S. Beagle
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Description
Conversing in a mausoleum with the dead, an eccentric recluse is tugged back into the world by a pair of ghostly lovers bearing an extraordinary gift-the final chance for his own happiness. When challenged by a faithless wife and aided by a talking raven, the lives of the living and the dead may be renewed by courage and passion, but only if not belatedly. Told with an elegiac wisdom, this & delightful tale of magic and otherworldly love & is a timeless work of fantasy imbued with hope and show more wonder. After multiple printings since 1960, this newest edition will contain the author's recent revisions and will stand as the definitive version of an ageless classic. show lessTags
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Member Recommendations
Ciruelo Both feature a single man with a devoted attachment to a graveyard and its restless ghost.
20
Member Reviews
I should have loved this when I was Laura's age, or maybe even as a teen, romantic and idealistic and all. But I wasn't really into this kind of stuff then. Now that I'm older than Klapper, I can appreciate the charm and the poetry and the themes better. The raven almost steals the show imo. And I like that in another language the title is "Hey Rebeck!"
btw, I did not actually read the edition shown so I have no idea whether I read the complete or definitive edition. It seemed fine. Anyway, I just chose the cover that I liked best. Laura has black hair, otherwise some of the other covers are ok.
---
So, even more powerful, several years on. I admit, I hardly remembered it, but my review does stand. With the additional note that this would show more make a fantastic buddy read or choice for book club. So much to discuss. What is love, when one cannot touch one's beloved? Can any good come from hiding from the world? What is one capable of doing for a friend? What is friendship? What is the value of memory? Etc. etc.
Early in the book we spend more time with the raven. At one point he gifts us this insight: "Goddam organizers, he thought. You get something good going, and somebody comes along and organizes it. He told himself that this was inevitable, the way of the world, but it bothered him. The raven would have been in favor of a movement in the general direction of chaos, consternation, and disorganization, had he not known that such a project would require the most organization of all. Besides, there would undoubtedly be a squirrel running it."
But his perspective is not completely dropped. He also provides just the right small note that isn't as somber as most of the rest: "Hummingbirds are great. ... You should have seen me when I found out I wasn't ever going to be a Hummingbird. I cried like a baby. Hell of a thing to tell a kid."
The people are more complex and more anguished, mostly: "There isn't too much we can do for ourselves or each other, ... except be in love because it's a little better than not being in love."
Highly recommended if you're in the mood for something philosophical, rather brilliant at times, and have the time to savor it a bit. (It took me three bedtimes and part of a day.) show less
btw, I did not actually read the edition shown so I have no idea whether I read the complete or definitive edition. It seemed fine. Anyway, I just chose the cover that I liked best. Laura has black hair, otherwise some of the other covers are ok.
---
So, even more powerful, several years on. I admit, I hardly remembered it, but my review does stand. With the additional note that this would show more make a fantastic buddy read or choice for book club. So much to discuss. What is love, when one cannot touch one's beloved? Can any good come from hiding from the world? What is one capable of doing for a friend? What is friendship? What is the value of memory? Etc. etc.
Early in the book we spend more time with the raven. At one point he gifts us this insight: "Goddam organizers, he thought. You get something good going, and somebody comes along and organizes it. He told himself that this was inevitable, the way of the world, but it bothered him. The raven would have been in favor of a movement in the general direction of chaos, consternation, and disorganization, had he not known that such a project would require the most organization of all. Besides, there would undoubtedly be a squirrel running it."
But his perspective is not completely dropped. He also provides just the right small note that isn't as somber as most of the rest: "Hummingbirds are great. ... You should have seen me when I found out I wasn't ever going to be a Hummingbird. I cried like a baby. Hell of a thing to tell a kid."
The people are more complex and more anguished, mostly: "There isn't too much we can do for ourselves or each other, ... except be in love because it's a little better than not being in love."
Highly recommended if you're in the mood for something philosophical, rather brilliant at times, and have the time to savor it a bit. (It took me three bedtimes and part of a day.) show less
Four people -- two alive and two dead -- discuss love and loss in a cemetery overseen by an unsentimental raven. A Fine and Private Place has lots of charming parts, but its determinedly high-minded and philosophical intentions never integrate with the plot or the characters. The end result reads like a sober tract smothering a great short story.
Beagle’s leisurely and sweet fantasy touches equally on life and death, hope and despair, and the inevitability of change.
Set in a New York City cemetery, it centers around Jonathan Rebeck, a man who lives in a mausoleum, talks to ghosts, and dines on food offerings delivered by a cynical talking raven. Neither Rebeck nor the reader is ever really sure exactly how this came about, but one day he was a pharmacist living a quiet, ordinary life, and the next he was living in a cemetery, welcoming the ghosts of the recently-departed as they make the difficult transition between worlds. It’s a limited life, but one that has suited Rebeck just fine for 19 years. Then a chatty Jewish widow, Gertrude Klapper, realizes it’s more than show more coincidence that she sees the solitary little man every time she comes to the cemetery to visit her late husband’s grave.
The tentative developing relationship between these two, juxtaposed with the poignant story of two young ghosts who seem to have found love only after death, drive the story to its bittersweet conclusion. Things do drag a bit toward the middle of the book, and there are long blocks of dialogue or monologue that don’t do much to advance the story. But the reader who’s in the mood for pondering the Great Questions will find some enjoyment here. show less
Set in a New York City cemetery, it centers around Jonathan Rebeck, a man who lives in a mausoleum, talks to ghosts, and dines on food offerings delivered by a cynical talking raven. Neither Rebeck nor the reader is ever really sure exactly how this came about, but one day he was a pharmacist living a quiet, ordinary life, and the next he was living in a cemetery, welcoming the ghosts of the recently-departed as they make the difficult transition between worlds. It’s a limited life, but one that has suited Rebeck just fine for 19 years. Then a chatty Jewish widow, Gertrude Klapper, realizes it’s more than show more coincidence that she sees the solitary little man every time she comes to the cemetery to visit her late husband’s grave.
The tentative developing relationship between these two, juxtaposed with the poignant story of two young ghosts who seem to have found love only after death, drive the story to its bittersweet conclusion. Things do drag a bit toward the middle of the book, and there are long blocks of dialogue or monologue that don’t do much to advance the story. But the reader who’s in the mood for pondering the Great Questions will find some enjoyment here. show less
I don't exactly understand how a book can be nihilistic and heartwarming at once, but this one manages it.
It is really really good, like a children's book for adults, if that makes sense . The content is not at all for children, but it feels genreless and wise the way a children's book is. Also it is illustrated. Illustrated!
The human insight in this one is scary. "How do you know that about me?" I would demand of Beagle, only to realize that probably it was something he knew about himself.
It is really really good, like a children's book for adults, if that makes sense . The content is not at all for children, but it feels genreless and wise the way a children's book is. Also it is illustrated. Illustrated!
The human insight in this one is scary. "How do you know that about me?" I would demand of Beagle, only to realize that probably it was something he knew about himself.
A really singular book. Peter S. Beagle wrote something - as a nineteen year-old! - that, whilst not for everybody, is a fine novel and definitely a unique one.
Jonathon Rebeck as been living in a cemetery for nearly twenty years. Hiding out in an abandoned mausoleum, his only friends are a talking raven, and the ghosts of the newly dead. It's difficult to add more without unnecessarily spoiling part of this slight novel's charm.
Beagle's fully-realised characters really drive the narrative, which is one based foremost on emotions. The book is built on long stretches of dialogue; people talking about their feelings, or responding to others' - yet it never feels meandering or lackadaisical. Indeed, the existential questions A Fine and show more Private Place brings up are equally relevant in and outside the book, and at times possess an genuine urgency and pathos.
Jonathon and the other denizens of the cemetery are always believable and interesting. Beagle has a great ear for dialogue and his descriptive prose is excellent, too; sharply observed but never too flowery.
Indeed, these things all combine to produce an environment which is really unique. The cemetery feels like a three-dimensional and complete world, similar to our own, but separate. It lends the novel the feeling of a parable, without a parable's attendant simplicity or easy lessons.
Not everyone will enjoy A Fine and Private Place. There are long stretches of little but dialogue; the feeling of almost impressionist unreality which permeates the book will alienate some readers; others may find the characters too self-obsessed or prolix. But I thought this was a real find. In the foreword, Beagle - now in his seventies - calls this his "state-of-grace novel", and I agree. There is something fleeting and wonderful caught between these pages. If you can find it, don't miss out. show less
Jonathon Rebeck as been living in a cemetery for nearly twenty years. Hiding out in an abandoned mausoleum, his only friends are a talking raven, and the ghosts of the newly dead. It's difficult to add more without unnecessarily spoiling part of this slight novel's charm.
Beagle's fully-realised characters really drive the narrative, which is one based foremost on emotions. The book is built on long stretches of dialogue; people talking about their feelings, or responding to others' - yet it never feels meandering or lackadaisical. Indeed, the existential questions A Fine and show more Private Place brings up are equally relevant in and outside the book, and at times possess an genuine urgency and pathos.
Jonathon and the other denizens of the cemetery are always believable and interesting. Beagle has a great ear for dialogue and his descriptive prose is excellent, too; sharply observed but never too flowery.
Indeed, these things all combine to produce an environment which is really unique. The cemetery feels like a three-dimensional and complete world, similar to our own, but separate. It lends the novel the feeling of a parable, without a parable's attendant simplicity or easy lessons.
Not everyone will enjoy A Fine and Private Place. There are long stretches of little but dialogue; the feeling of almost impressionist unreality which permeates the book will alienate some readers; others may find the characters too self-obsessed or prolix. But I thought this was a real find. In the foreword, Beagle - now in his seventies - calls this his "state-of-grace novel", and I agree. There is something fleeting and wonderful caught between these pages. If you can find it, don't miss out. show less
Peter Beagle is one of those writers who I respect on reputation, and I enjoyed "The Last Unicorn" back in the day, but, for the most part, his work doesn't fall into categories that I tend to read. That said, when my book group decided to relaunch after the long COVID layoff, we picked this work since Mr. Beagle is going to be a guest of honor at our local science fiction convention. My main concern is that this was going to be a period piece that really didn't hold up, and is esteemed because of the halo effect of Beagle's long career. One thing is for sure, the man was a good prose-crafter right out of the box, and my interest was engaged from the start. However, the ghost story is still really not my thing, though the twist that show more detonates the climax was a surprise, and allows for a satisfying wrap-up. show less
A Fine and Private Place is a book to be savoured, ready slowly, absorbing its subtle nuances and lyrical prose. The plot is an unsual one. The protagonist, Jonathon Rebeck, is a former pharmacist who, after a big night, wakes to find himself in a graveyard, one which he does not leave...for nineteen years. His only regular companion is a talking raven, who supplies him with food and the odd luxury item, like a book. But far from being a lonely experience, Rebeck spends his time greeting the newly dead as they wake to their new existence...that is, before they forget.
The dead in Beagle's world do not move on to an afterlife, or haunt the living. They remain bound to their mortal remains, as they slowly forget their lives and ultimately show more fade away. Rebeck takes it upon himself to greet these people, spending time with them in conversation, and occasionally a game of chess. It is in this quiet life of Rebeck's, that we meet Michael Morgan. Angry and bitter about his death, being poisoned by his beautiful wife Michael is determined to hang on to his ghostly existence and resist fading away. Michael and Rebeck then meet Laura Durand, killed by a truck and resigned to her new existence. Laura and Michael begin an unusual friendship, threatened all the time by their fading memories, especially Michael, who clings onto his former life, all the while losing the true memory of it.
Rebeck too forms an unlikely relationship, with the widowed Mrs Klapper, whom he meets as she visits her husbands grave. Rebeck is afraid to admit the truth to his new friend and what that might mean for his life there. But soon a greater threat emerges, as memories are forced to the surface and truths are revealed.
An unlikely story of friendship and the nature of living and dying, A Fine and Private Place is truly that. A quiet space in which the reader can be totally absorbed, with a delicate story, fragile characters and eerie yet charming location. Beagle's writing is just delicious, simple but elegant. A couple of passages really stayed with me:
"Man searches constantly for identity, he thought as he trotted along the gravel path. He has no real proof of his existence except for the reaction of other people to that fact. So he listens very closely to what people say to one another about him, whether it's good or bad, because it indicates that he lives in the same world they do, and that all his fears about being invisible, impotent, lacking some mysterious dimension that other people have, are groundless. That's why people like to have nicknames."
"I am tired , he thought. Maybe the heat is doing it, but I have sat through a good many summers here and never felt like this. I am tired of being helpful. I am tired of being comfortable. Why this should be I do not know, but my image of myself as an understanding old man, floating in kindness like a cherry in a sugared liqueur, is beginning to curl at the corners. I wish something would happen to me, something that would show me exactly how cruel and jealous and vengeful I can be. Then I could go back to gentleness because I chose it over brutality for its own sake, not because I didn't have the courage to be cruel. I might even like cruelty. I doubt very much that I would, but I ought to find out."
What makes this work an even greater feat is that Beagle wrote it while only 19 years of age. An absolute joy to read, this is a ghost story with a difference. Whole-heartedly recommended to all. I cannot wait to experience more of Beagle's writing. show less
The dead in Beagle's world do not move on to an afterlife, or haunt the living. They remain bound to their mortal remains, as they slowly forget their lives and ultimately show more fade away. Rebeck takes it upon himself to greet these people, spending time with them in conversation, and occasionally a game of chess. It is in this quiet life of Rebeck's, that we meet Michael Morgan. Angry and bitter about his death, being poisoned by his beautiful wife Michael is determined to hang on to his ghostly existence and resist fading away. Michael and Rebeck then meet Laura Durand, killed by a truck and resigned to her new existence. Laura and Michael begin an unusual friendship, threatened all the time by their fading memories, especially Michael, who clings onto his former life, all the while losing the true memory of it.
Rebeck too forms an unlikely relationship, with the widowed Mrs Klapper, whom he meets as she visits her husbands grave. Rebeck is afraid to admit the truth to his new friend and what that might mean for his life there. But soon a greater threat emerges, as memories are forced to the surface and truths are revealed.
An unlikely story of friendship and the nature of living and dying, A Fine and Private Place is truly that. A quiet space in which the reader can be totally absorbed, with a delicate story, fragile characters and eerie yet charming location. Beagle's writing is just delicious, simple but elegant. A couple of passages really stayed with me:
"Man searches constantly for identity, he thought as he trotted along the gravel path. He has no real proof of his existence except for the reaction of other people to that fact. So he listens very closely to what people say to one another about him, whether it's good or bad, because it indicates that he lives in the same world they do, and that all his fears about being invisible, impotent, lacking some mysterious dimension that other people have, are groundless. That's why people like to have nicknames."
"I am tired , he thought. Maybe the heat is doing it, but I have sat through a good many summers here and never felt like this. I am tired of being helpful. I am tired of being comfortable. Why this should be I do not know, but my image of myself as an understanding old man, floating in kindness like a cherry in a sugared liqueur, is beginning to curl at the corners. I wish something would happen to me, something that would show me exactly how cruel and jealous and vengeful I can be. Then I could go back to gentleness because I chose it over brutality for its own sake, not because I didn't have the courage to be cruel. I might even like cruelty. I doubt very much that I would, but I ought to find out."
What makes this work an even greater feat is that Beagle wrote it while only 19 years of age. An absolute joy to read, this is a ghost story with a difference. Whole-heartedly recommended to all. I cannot wait to experience more of Beagle's writing. show less
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ThingScore 75
A first novel that is both sepulchral and oddly appealing... a wry dialogue with death that may contain no large lump of wisdom but offers a fair selection of small ones.
added by jjlong
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1960s, Best books published therein
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Author Information
129+ Works 21,892 Members
Peter S. Beagle was born in Manhattan in April of 1939. During his senior year of high school, Beagle entered a poem and a short story in the 1955 Scholastic Writing Awards Contest, not knowing that the Grand Prize was a college education. He won that prize and went on to spend four years at the University of Pittsburgh after graduating from high show more school in 1955. In his sophomore year at the University of Pittsburgh, Beagle entered another contest, winning first place again in Seventeen Magazine's Short Story Contest. At the age of 19, he published "A Fine and Private Place." Beagle graduated college with a degree in Creative Writing and a Spanish minor and then spent a year overseas. When he returned, his new-found agent had enrolled him in a writing workshop at Stanford. After his first few published stories, Beagle supported himself and his family as a freelancer for many years. In the 70's he began to write screenplays, as well as take up the hobby of singing folk songs at a local club. Beagle has published music as well as books, both his passions, and both lucrative. Beagle gives lectures and readings at universities, and also hosts writing workshops at schools such as the University of Washington and Clarion West. His works have been translated into 15 languages. Beagle has also written a script for Star Trek: The Next Generation and the screenplay for the animated feature version of The Lord of the Rings. In 1987, Beagle's "The Last Unicorn" was proclaimed the Number 5 All Time Fantasy Novel. That same year, "The Innkeeper's Song" won the Mythopoetic Fantasy Award. In 1997, "The Unicorn Sonata" won the Locus Poll Award for Best Novella, and in 1998, "Giant Bones" won the same award as well as being nominated for the 1998 World Fantasy Award. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- He! Rebeck!
- Original title
- A Fine and Private Place
- Original publication date
- 1960
- People/Characters
- Michael Morgan; Mr. Rebeck; Mrs. Klapper; Laura; the raven; Campos
- Important places
- New York, New York, USA
- Epigraph
- "The grave's a fine and private place, but none, I think, do there embrace."
[Andrew Marvell, To His Coy Mistress] - Dedication
- Dies Erste widme ich meinen Eltern, Simon und Rebecca, und meinem Bruder Daniel und selbstverständlich auch Edwin Peterson
This first one for my parents, Simon and Rebecca, and for my brother Daniel, and, as it must be, for Edwin Peterson - First words
- The baloney weighed the raven down, and the shopkeeper almost caught him as he whisked out the delicatessen door.
- Quotations
- Man searches constantly for identity, he thought as trotted along the gravel path. He has no real proof of his existence except for the reaction of other people to that fact. So he listens very closely to what people say to o... (show all)ne another about him, whether it's good or bad, because it indicates that he lives in the same world they do, and that all his fears about being invisible, impotent, lacking some mysterious dimension that other people have, are groundless. That's why people like to have nicknames. [p. 140]
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Aloud he said, "I wonder what happened to the seagull."
- Original language
- English
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 813.54
- Canonical LCC
- PS3552.E13
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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- Reviews
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- 5 — English, German, Hungarian, Korean, Spanish
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- ISBNs
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