A Man of Genius

In all this is a quite interesting story that is also rather intriguing.  As retired attorney Dolinger sits on a veranda he is approached by another attorney from the firm he was a partner in, asking him for some type of help with closure.  Dolinger was a friend, attorney to and an executor of famed architect Samuel Grafton-Hall’s last Will and Testament. Dolinger tries to put things into some comprehensible order as he pieces together and conjectures on events from the past.

After the Will has been read it should have been an end to matters, but then found slightly later is a codicil with instructions that the current Mrs Grafton-Hall has to make a journey to a place called Hesperus’s Walk to meet the resident and to take care of them during their lifetime.  But what could this all mean?  As Dolinger gives the task to Ms Carlyle Richards thus this female attorney also becomes involved in something that happened many years before.

As we read more about Samuel we learn that this man of genius was rather egotistical, very manipulative and seemed to think that normal morals and civilities didn't necessarily apply to him.  But with his first wife secretly helping him and a schoolgirl as a lover, how far will things go?  With murder, and manipulation it seems quite possible that Samuel still can control people to a degree even from beyond the grave.

With moral choices to be made and deceit and deception, has Dolinger given us what probably really happened, or is this deception by him as he never got to have Samuel’s first wife?  In all this is a book that does make you think, and wonder what you would do if you had the choices that come at the end of this.

I was kindly provided with a free review copy of this by the publisher via NetGalley for a completely honest and unbiased review.

It's hard to review a book like this. This isn't a plot-driven book as much as it is a character-study. The synopsis and the prologue almost make this sound like a murder mystery. There is a murder, but this book isn't really about the murder. If you go into it thinking you are going to get a murder mystery, you are going to be very disappointed. That said, this was a very interesting read. The characters were complex and engrossing, which is exactly what you want of a character-study. And though a lot of the characters are highly unlikable, they are multi-dimensional enough to keep you captivated.

The only thing keeping this from being a 5 star for me was the fact that I thought some sections dragged a bit. The story is set up as a manuscript written by one of the characters and said manuscript is split into "present day" (1990's) and "past" (around 1950's, I believe). The "past" sections are by far the best. I thought the more modern sections felt slightly disconnected and I didn't care for the odd love-story sub-plot. But all in all I enjoyed the manuscript style, especially when the "author" (again, a character in the book) sort of broke the forth wall, to use a TV term, and interjected himself into the writing.

I think fans of thought-provoking character-studies and classic Gothic tales will enjoy this.

This story are woven together extraordinarily well. From the beautifully worded architectural scenes, the thoughtfully crafted characters, to the unique story telling, this novel is a masterpiece.

I enjoyed this book even though it dragged a little for me in the middle The book centers around an architect, Grafton-Hall,  an old murder, and some very old secrets.  He is an enfant terrible who is always keeping his lawyer busy and wants to always be in control.  The book is told in flashback as a manuscript that said lawyer is writing.  There are only a few characters so the story is not hard to follow. I was not surprised by the ending but it was good as Grafton-Hall still tries to control others from the grave.  My only problem was that I do not agree with the premise that genius trumps all and I did not see the main character as a genius.  Enjoy this book as a good story with  interesting characters and a good mystery.

When the famous but complicated architect Samuel Grafton-Hall dies, his will sets in motion the Machiavellian scheme he has thought out for his second wife Elizabeth. It is up to her to confront his past and decide about a complicated question which he refused to face. Or she could act against his will, after being finally free from living under his thumb. Also wrapped up in this are the aging lawyer Arthur (our narrator after having investigated the truth) and his young, ambitious colleague. As well as, in the past, the architect's first wife and his lover, and a murder. 

The plot sounds relatively simple - and it is. But the real strength of this debut novel lays within the characters acting in this plot. It is their strong personalities and their morals that make this novel so ambiguous and complicated to resolve. It is definitely a book to read multiple times or to discuss with a book club. Every reader will probably find their own answer. 

Get a dictionary ready, because this novel throws around quite a few three- or four-syllable words that are rarely used. However, that was never presumptuous or arrogant, it just added to the overall voice of the story. I quite enjoyed the unreliable narrator who is himself immersed in the plot. From time to time, he even interrupts and comments on the action: A unique feature that only added to the overall complexity. The same can be said about the open ending.  It is not a lazy getting it over with from the author, but rather a clever open ended cue for discussion. 

The point is not the author teaching us a lesson, it is her challenging us and our believes, as well as asking us: How would you have decided? Therefore, the unapologetic "Nor can I respond to the other clawing question: Who lived and who died...? In the end, does it make any difference? Isn't the more perplexing and consequential question: What should Elizabeth have done? If answered, the response would define its author. Sorry, I'm not yet prepared to commit." from the narrator serves as the perfect ending.

Lynn Rosen presented a brilliant novel with a complex moral and personal issues at the center. It includes characters, scope, and voice that make you forget this is a literary debut. Definite must-read for thoughtful fans of literary fiction and for book clubs!

I’ve always loved a good murder mystery so when I stumbled upon the description for Lynn Rosen’s upcoming A Man of Genius, the combination of promised mystery with the exploration of genius and morality proved tempting. What the description didn’t mention was the unusual narrative framing that provides additional fodder for consideration and analysis. 

After the death of renowned architect, Samuel Grafton-Hall, his lawyers struggle to execute an unexpected codicil related to his will, the details of which must be read aloud to his widow, Elizabeth, and she must comply with them if she wishes to keep possession of Upuna Rose and the architectural forum of students and employees who live and work on its premises. Getting Elizabeth to cooperate proves more difficult than one would expect. The codicil pertains to another of Grafton-Hall’s properties, Hesperus’s Walk, where decades before his first wife, Catherine, had perished in an unfortunate fire along with two servant girls. As the novel unfolds, the circumstances of Grafton-Hall’s professional and personal life in the years leading up to that fateful fire are presented—through the biased lens of one of the architect’s longtime lawyers—and the tenuous truth of what happened at Hesperus’s Walk is revealed. 

I wasn’t expected the embedded nature of the narrative structure and found it an intriguing way to tell this particular story. The central narrator—Arthur Dolinger—with his obvious biases thanks to his personal relationships with the tale’s central characters injects additional ambiguity into the story as it unfolds. Desperate for the friendship of such a prominent—if eccentric and difficult—man like Grafton-Hall, Dolinger’s interpretation is clearly affected by the character’s pronounced affection—unrequited though it may be—for the architect’s wife, Catherine. Dolinger is aware of his inadequacies as a narrator and provides additional information from either concrete sources or other’s accounts where possible but also emphasizes (frequently) how much of the narrative he writes is speculation. 

What isn’t speculative is the examination of genius and how it is treated by society—as well as the double standards where men and women are concerned, and during the 1940s and 50s. As a man with prodigious talent and a reputation to uphold, Samuel Grafton-Hall is excused a great many of his eccentricities by those around him. He is constantly being sued for breach of contract when his projects go over-budget but refuses to amend his process, using the advances of the next project to fund his lifestyle and pay off the excesses of the project before. Despite the hassle this makes for his lawyers, the publicity he brings them is too valuable for them to do more than scold him. At the same time, the credit he receives for his designs is in part thanks to assistance from Catherine who has studied architecture and design in her own right and though she was lauded for her talent as a student, was turned away when she sought work in the field. She is able to help her husband translate his ideas into the blueprints necessary for physical execution. Desperate to hold onto even that small outlet for her creativity, she tolerates the cold treatment she receives from her husband who resents his reliance on her talents. 

Though the novel’s progression is fascinating, I found its ultimate resolution to be a bit anti-climactic. There’s deliberate and effective ambiguity as far as the murder at the heart of the book is concerned—that works particularly well—but when it comes to the codicil and the tensions related to that, the ending fell flat for me. 

A Man of Genius will be available for purchase April 1, 2016.

This book will remind many of DuMaurier and Mandalay with the intricate descriptive characterisation of Dickens. It is a well written novel told in the third and first person which carries the reader across the years with the architectural genius that is Samuel Grafton-Hall.  There is a murder, however the way the story progresses that becomes almost secondary. There is also a dark, delicious, creepiness to the settings and atmosphere that have been elegantly created.
My only criticism and it is only a slight one which can be overlooked is that as a reader i loved the historic aspect and felt like it was set in the time of the "classics" whereas the modern day felt so far apart that the narrator, Arthur Dolinger, would have to be well over a hundred years of age

Beguiling story of seduction, cruelty, and murder.  A mystery is concealed by renowned architect, Samuel Grafton-Hall, who driven by his monstrous ego lives a life of deceit to himself and those around him.  While appearing to be a genius to others who strives for simplistic, holistic design, he weaves a complex web of dominance, manipulation, and control entrapping those who have the audacity to love him.  The more you read, the more complicit you become; each delicious twist of this story brings us closer to the truth.

A Man of Genius  by Lynn Rosen 

An ambiguous tale with two sources, Carlyle Richards and Arthur Dolinger.  

Arthur Dolinger, a senior partner in his law firm, assigns Carlyle Richards to convince the widow of a revered architect to have an unexpected codicil to his will read aloud.  So far, the widow has refused, asserting that her husband's original will (which leaves his famous home Upuna Rose to her) is all that matters.

Unhappy with her assignment in the first place, Carlyle finds herself enchanted with Upuna Rose and the beauty of its style and surroundings.  She is also instantly drawn to the widow, but cannot understand Elizabeth's reluctance to have the codicil read aloud to her.  If terms aren't met, Elizabeth will forfeit Upuna Rose. 

Some years later, Carlyle finds Arthur Dolinger seated alone at a business retreat and tells him that she is still uneasy about the entire situation that transpired.  She tells her story, and  intrigued and curious, Arthur decides to delve into his own memories and attempt to solve some of the mysteries surrounding Samuel Grafton-Hall and the codicil to his will.  Was a murder actually committed?

The descriptions of the novel refer to moral decisions and whether or not genius should be excused of crime.  By genius alone should consideration be granted?  While it is true that moral questions concerning excusable genius are called into play and beg deliberation and reflection, I found the most interesting questions to be more in the line of "are things done to us?" or "do we allow (or choose, as Arthur mentions) these things to be done?"   

It is a fascinating novel, dealing with the egotistical, but visionary architect Samuel Grafton-Hall, his wives and lover, his hubris and self-inflated personality, his total inability to consider others, except in relation to himself.  Help or hindrance?  He has no deeper emotional connection to another human being.

The story moves from past to present, focusing on two characters at a time (for the most part) with one character always being the flamboyant, egotistical Samuel.

I think it is inescapable that Rosen drew partly from events in the life of Frank Lloyd Wright, but Samuel Grafton-Hall's story is more Gothic.  

I was engrossed from beginning to end.  User or used, who lived, who died, status quo or criminal liability?   

Scheduled for April 6, 2016.

NetGalley/Una Publications

Psychological/Mystery.  April 15, 2016.  Print length:  246 pages.

A man of genius.  I give this book 4 stars for many reasons. The book in my opinion started off  slow but once you get in it a little bit of ways it really starts getting interesting.Once it started getting interesting, I couldn't stop reading it. I found this book so enjoyable to read! The story line and plot was excellent. I really enjoyed readingabout the characterand getting to know them as the story progressed. The characters were perfectly explained and were great. I found by reading this story you really need to payattention to the story as it unfolds. Otherwise you will get lost in the story and not understand it as much. This novel in my opinionwas a greatway to inspire woman in the world and to make them realize that need to think before making decisions. The woman it the storymade a lot of decisions that effected their Iives and the way they think of themselves. It's a reminder of everyday life. I reccomend this story to anyone that enjoys a good novel or reading. Yes, it might start off slow but recommend you to stick to reading it.  I recommend you give this novel a chance. It would definitely will be worth it.

Let me start out by saying that Samuel is a narcissist, a megalomaniac, an ephebophile and an all-round jerk. He likes to control the people around him and his environment, especially the women.

His wife, Catherine, dances to his tune, despite the fact it is to her own detriment. She lies to herself about the reasons for her complacency. She is the real reason for his success. Without Catherine the world will discover the fraud of his apparent genius.

He does rattle on about what a genius he is, almost to the point of bringing tears to my eyes. I admit I would find it hard to put up with such an elitist attitude, and I certainly wouldn’t bow or cow to it.

The question is whether he really is one, because technically he seems incapable of creating his designs in a visual or written manner. He relies on Catherine to interpret his visions.

He controls her, he controls his mistress and in the end he is still trying to control both of them and his second wife from the grave. All in an attempt to keep up the pretence.

This story is more an analysis of Samuel’s character, his manipulations and how the people around him react to his power games. The plot does involve a murder or two, but in essence it is all about a power hungry ego driven man still trying to drive the car from within his coffin.
Thank you to Una and NetGalley for my copy of A Man of Genius.