Whistlejacket: A Novel [Hardcover]

John Hawkes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1988

A tale of death and desire, erotic intrigue and duplicity, family circumstance, expectation and betrayal. Observed through the eyes of a disturbed young photographer, it tells of a family devoted to fox-hunting, of a husband's murder and a wife's revenge and of the carnality that connects them.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Faintly menacing, deliberately ambiguous, heavy with sexual innuendo, the narrator's voice in this tightly spun, chilling new novel by accomplished writer Hawkes (Adventures in the Alaskan Skin Trade) is appropriate to the bizarre story that unfolds. As 28-year-old fashion photographer, horseman and fox hunter Michael slowly discovers, the grisly death of his mentor and quasi-father Harold O. Van Fleet is only one of the strange events that have taken place at Steepleton, the Van Fleet estate. Hal's survivors in this household brimming with unhealthy secrets include his wife Alex, daughter Virgie and permanent boarder Buse. All have been victims of Hal's erotic caprices and have something to do with his being trampled to death by his favorite horse, Marcabru. Hal had firmly believed the steed to be a descendant of the legendary Whistlejacket, whose portrait by George Stubbs is a family heirloom. (The circumstances under which Stubbs immortalized the horse on canvas form a fascinating flashback, which is, however, somewhat too patent and intrusive a device for the narrative as a whole.) As Michael unravels the web of family intrigue, he also reveals his own voyeuristic, obsessive, sadistic personality and his part in the proceedings. The mesmerizing novel culminates in a brutal fox-hunt scene that has few fictional parallels. The abrupt ending will send readers back to the text to ferret out ingenious clues.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

$17.95. f Whistlejacket was the name of a powerful horse painted by 18th-century artist George Stubbs. Among the compelling fragments in Hawkes's new novel is an imaginative recreation of Stubbs's life and a sometimes harrowing account of his work in human and equine anatomy. Framing this segment are episodes from the lives of the Van Fleet family, modern fanciers of horseflesh and owners of Whistlejacket's portrait. A few of these hold our interestthe story of Grandfather Van Fleet's alcoholic and libidinous decline, for instancebut others are perfunctory. More damagingly, much is left unresolved, as if a master juggler had fallen asleep in the middle of his act.Grove Koger, Boise P.L., Id.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 194 pages
• Publisher: Grove Pr; 1st edition (June 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555840493
• ISBN-13: 978-1555840495
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #168,852 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hawkes sure can write., September 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Whistlejacket (American Literature (Dalkey Archive)) (Paperback)

Man he's good. A friend of mine, or rather an acquaintence at this point, had Hawkes for a lecturer in school. And he was described to me as this geeky college prof and nothing out of the ordinary. I read a few of his earlier books (The 'Blood Oranges', 'Second Skin', and 'The Lime Twig') and it amazed me that this dude could make my skin crawl like that. I picked up 'Whistlejacket' and thought 'well this guys aged some I bet he's mellowed a little bit'. At first I thought I was right but it's more like Nolan Ryan's later years on the mound. Hawkes still delivers. He's just learned all the tricks and lures the the reader into an unwarranted sense of security. Later that old sick stomach comes back to haunt you.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Haunting atmosphere and tale., July 6, 2000

By 

"dearmad" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whistlejacket (American Literature (Dalkey Archive)) (Paperback)

I love Hawkes' writing. His An Irish Eye and the Blood Oranges are very good as well. Somehow he infuses a vbrant life into even his darker, stranger stories so that everything seems alive and full of light even while twisting in agony. Describing his writing is difficult as his style is unique. He was one of the top American writers of all time.

Whistlejacket is a fun read just for some of the short descriptive scenes and the subtelty with which Hawkes laces the interactions between his characters.

Oh, if you dislike horses, this book is not for you.