John Ratti

From Duncan Hill is an accidental crime caper about some missing art; (feigned?) madness; the transcendent power of misperception, glory in every great mistake (not) and the virtues of wretched excess (perhaps) - all knotted into an (in-)auspicious attempt at a biography of one great painter told through his effect on some characters in a dubious work of fiction. "They're going to steal it, I'm sure..." - That's what the unnamed narrator believes about the two familiar strangers flanking him in the museum. A struggling and blocked writer who draws inspiration from living in proximity to long -deceased painter Fitz H. Lane, he believes he's discovered a plot to steal the artist's masterpiece, From Duncan Hill. So to "save" it, he takes the painting first. But is that really why he does it? Intending to hold the work until the "real" thieves are discovered,the narratror's friends soon discover the painting in his possession. Are the aware he has the genuine From Duncan Hill? The narrator certainly thinks so as they help him build an altar to the work hidden in his crawl space after they all begin experiencing a run of good luck. "We're being rewarded," the narrator believes, "for rescuing the work." Consequences of From Duncan Hill going missing echo across the town, nation and world; extortion attempts, jailings, even a suicide occurs. Meanwhile, the narrator grows obsessed with detials and mysteries surrounding Lane's life before forgetting about it all when his greatest dream comes true. At least it seems it does.

From Duncan Hill features a quirky bunch of characters like The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight, has a bit of the sloppy madness of Catch-22, is evocative of the picaresque details in A Confederency of Dunces and holds a tad of the swirling downward spiral from Lucky Jim with touches of Tom Robbins, Carl Hiaasen and the delusions of the narrator in Nobokov's Lolita. Sound unlikely? ... We agree. Read it and see for yourself!