The Muse Asylum

"I see now the virtue in madness, for this country knows no law or any boundary. I pity the poor shades confined to the Euclidean prison which is sanity." Dr. Amedeus Arkham 'Batman:Arkham Asylum' David Czuchlewski's debut novel, "The Muse Asylum", is a brilliantly wrought story about the mysterious paths our lives take, bringing us into contact with people for strange reasons...reasons which ultimately are revealed to us, for better or for worse. At the center of this story is Lara Knowles, a young woman loved by two men: Jake Burnett, a reporter dedicated to revealing the identity of the reclusive and highly revered American author Horace Jacob Little; and Andrew Wallace, a very disturbed genius and inmate of the Overlook Psychiatric Institute for artists. Andrew is convinced that Little is trying to kill him. Because of Lara and Little, the three characters paths converge and cross many times, stoking the plot nicely. With twists and turns abounding, "...Asylum" is an incredible and entertaining read, mysterious and intelligent. I applaud Mr. Czuchlewski's insight and talent!

Bettter than the reviews. This enticing novel moves right along and dares you leave it, even for dinner. Tightly plotted. Quickly paced. With just enough juxtaposition of past and present and literary savy and enquiry into the nature of sanity and art to be more than a little interesting. It is far, far better than most offerings and undoubtedly the characters and the twists and turns will provide me with pleasant mental munchies for some time. The little summaries and synopsis don't do justice to the novel's machinations. Write on Mr. Czuchlewshi, whoever and wherever you are. We will be waiting to see if you can do it again.

Characters Lara, Andrew, Jake and Horance Jacob Little are destined to remain prominent in our minds. Thankfully, Jake survived, bloody and reborn, to describe the "way down" and what a tale he told --one that begs to be discussed by a reading group. This is a book written by a booklover, writing about an author who refuses to believe that he has given up his rights to privacy. He defends the act of writing as a solitary and private act. We think that the author behind the author, David Czuchlewski, might be amused and pleased when his book comes full circle to the reading group where the solidary act of reading is shared. Your reading group will admire the plot which is moved forward as a particular book is shared. It is handed from one person to another and Andrew grows to admire this shared book because his love, Lara, has left scattered annotations and underlinings in the shared book. And Andrew concludes, "If Lara admired this writer as much as I did, well, so much more evidence that we were meant for each other."We loved this book for its crisp manner and its ability to capture obsession on the page. We think that these two quotes, which are our favorites, define obsessive love and loss, "The fate of the world was tied up with the rightness of my hand on the small of her back." " Glen's hand rested gently on the small of Lara's back. . . " Our interesting word selection is the simple word "smile". Your group might want to study how people smile in this short tale and how Lara smiles but does not laugh and how Jake could hear a delusional undercurrent beneath Lara's smile and finally how Lara let the smile on her face die. Finally, in order to convince our reading group that this youthful author did in fact write this crisp tale of intrigue we invite him to join our reading group for a lively discussion. Our intent would not be to discover any ruse but to admire and share as we pass The Muse Asylum from reader to reader. Mr. Czuchlewski, would you please join us?Martha Burns and Alice Dillon are the authors of Reading Group Journal: Notes in the Margin. They meet monthly with their reading groups in NJ and Oregon.

Every year, I make it a point to read a few first novels. I think it is important to support our literary future. Usually, the first novels I read are good but not particularly special. Here is an exception--David Czuchlewski has written a truly wonderful novel, first novel or no.In this novel, Czuchlewski tells the story of the search for a very reclusive writer named Horace Jacob Little. The search is carried on by a two young men--Jake Burnett, a young writer for a newspaper, and Andrew Wallace, who is certain Horace Jacob Little is out to get him. This lands the brilliant, though unstable, Wallace in the "muse asylum" of the title. The link between these two young men is Lara, the girl with whom they are both in love.Needless to say, I don't want to give away any of the twists and turns of this novel. Let me just say that the writing here is wonderful. The characters are clearly drawn and, in Andrew, I found one of the most realistic depictions of madness in recent years. The plot is clever and Czuchlewski sustains the tension throughout the book. I am usually very good at predicting how novels will end but this one surprised me to the last pages. I was especially glad that Czuchlewski opted for what I would call a "realistic" ending when I was fully prepared to accept the bizarre to the point of the supernatural. Instead, I believed that everything I read could happen.Even though it's not a particularly long book (and I dislike this trend towards superficial haste in modern novels), it is a deep and solid whole. It is a quick read but better than the typical thriller. I must admit, I'm already looking forward to novel number two.

David Czuchlewski has opened a promising career with an excellent first novel. The saying "easy reading is hard writing" comes to mind with the Muse Asylum, for it reads so well and so smoothly that Mr. Czuchlewski's work deserves high praise. It is a story told from the point of view of two different charactors - often they retell the same stories with eerie disagreement. The plot bends and twists, but keeps the reader along for the ride and ends with a very clever finish.Bravo Mr. Czuchlewski. Good luck on your next novel!