If you appreciated Patrick deWitt’s wry humor in The Sisters Brothers, his latest novel – Undermajordomo Minor – will have you smirking and gasping – did he really say that?  Written is short chapters with sharp dialogue and clipped descriptions, deWitt’s story of teenager Lucien, known as Lucy, offers a bent philosophical view of life in a fabled narrative with questions and surprises.  After a while, you won’t know what to believe, but you’ll continue reading…

After a near-death experience, Lucy Minor leaves the village of Bury, hoping for a better life as the undermajordomo at a castle in nearby town.  Clearly, Lucy knows how to make his life seem better by fabricating lies, but sometimes he gets caught in his deception. The character evokes sympathy as well as humor as he bumbles his way through his new life.

I haven’t finished yet, and I understand the ending has some surprises – something to look forward to…

Related Review from NPR:  A Fable’s Foibles: In Gilded Language, This Folk Tale Gets To The Point