The Gypsy Storyteller - Hardcover

Simpson, Thomas William

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0446516139 ISBN 13: 9780446516136

Publisher: Warner Books, 1993

Synopsis

Satire, mystery, and romance blend when two suburban New Jersey friends--Mac, an introverted follower, and the charismatic but manipulative Daniel--meet Rachel, a powerful and beautiful woman, whose presence leads to unexpected struggles in their friendship. 15,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author:

The inside skinny on The Gypsy Storyteller is this: the three main characters—Daniel, Matthew, and Rachel—who form the triangle that holds the narrative together, are all drawn from distinct facets of my own psyche and personality. When I sat down to begin my second novel I had in mind an adventure story, a Huck Finn kind of thing with overtones of A Separate Peace. I hashed out my two primary characters, Matthew and Daniel, alike in many ways, but also strikingly different. The plot went well. I had little trouble filling the pages. My own youth, after all, had been full of adventures, both real and imagined, so I had few problems conjuring up the grist of boyhood. But whereas This Way Madness Lies had a cast of a dozen or more characters, The Gypsy Storyteller had but a few. This meant I needed to understand those characters better and dig deeper to find out who they were and what motivated their actions. It became my first great exploration of self. I was in my early thirties at the time, a big, strong, athletic guy. I came from a family that had some dough. I had traveled a lot. I wasn’t afraid of much. Nothing, other than a broken heart or two and a couple broken bones, had ever hurt me. I pretty much had the world by the short hairs. But I had this novel to write. And my editor, Jamie Raab at Warner Books, really liked the beginning but she was pushing me to develop Matthew and Daniel beyond stereotypes of suburban American white boys. So I started to dig. And I soon had to admit I was a far more complex and angst-driven guy than I’d ever dreamed. I was Matthew Chandler, the conformist, uptight white kid from the affluent suburbs with all the advantages. But I was also Daniel Hawthorn, the kid full of wanderlust and rebellion who spoke his mind and would not be suppressed. All good. I embraced it. I was developing as a writer and as a man. Then Rachel arrived on the scene. And I had to dig still deeper for Rachel was an artist and a free spirit and I quickly realized I probably had a greater affinity for Ms. Fredericks than for either Matthew or Daniel. The years have proven this insight out. Without question my artistic side, my relentless desire to indulge my imagination and explore my creativity even in the midst of a life in crisis, has been the greatest driving force in my life. The Gypsy Storyteller is easily the most autobiographical of my novels. But more than that it’s a great adventure story. And maybe even a better love story.

From Kirkus Reviews:

In his second novel, Simpson (This Way Madness Lies, 1991) ventures afield from suburban New Jersey into a world of blood- lusts and revenge that spans two generations and several continents. Matthew Chandler, the thirtysomething Manhattan lawyer who narrates the tale, tells us right at the start what the problem is: ``See, there's this woman. Good God, there's always a woman.'' In this case, the woman is Rachel, a blind artist whom Matthew has known since his schooldays and whom he shares (unhappily) with his best friend, Daniel Hawthorn. Daniel is a hybrid, sort of a cross between Owen Meany and Rasputin: half-WASP and half-Gypsy, he ranks in most of the world's tennis tournaments and hunts down Nazis in his spare time. He also manages to seduce Rachel as an afterthought, and nearly kills her in a traffic accident that leaves her sightless. Meanwhile, Matthew, who seems to have turned hatred of his suburban parents into a full-time job, finds a way to make room for Daniel and satisfies his resentments once and for all at the close. The Weldonesque tones of the narration here, full of asides and digressions, become something of a nuisance after a while--especially as they come from a character who seems to have formed no opinions or tastes whatsoever (apart from a loathing for his family)--although the story is decently paced and nuanced, and the character of Daniel is nicely drawn. A good read, with a few surprises: Simpson seems to be getting the hang of it. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Warner Books
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0446516139
• ISBN 13: 9780446516136
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 370