The Horned Man
by James Lasdun
W. W. Norton & Co., 2002

(from the publisher) The Horned Man opens with a man losing his place in a book, then deepens into a dark and terrifying tale of a man losing his place in the world.

As Lawrence Miller, an English expatriate and a professor of gender studies, tells the story of what appears to be an elaborate conspiracy to frame him for a series of brutal killings, we descend into a world of subtly deceptive appearances where persecutor and victim continually shift roles, where paranoia assumes an air of calm rationality, and where enlightenment itself casts a darkness in which the most nightmarish acts occur.

As the novel races to its shocking conclusion, we follow Miller as he traverses the streets of Manhattan and the decaying suburbs beyond, in terrified pursuit of his pursuers. Written with sinuous grace and intellectual acuity, The Horned Man is an extraordinary, unforgettable excursion into the lethal battleground of desire and repression.

This long-awaited debut novel demonstrates that James Lasdun ranks among the most brilliant of contemporary writers; as Michiko Kakutani wrote in the New York Times, "Mr. Lasdun surprises us again and again, by painting in the details of his characters' lives with such authority and imagination that we become thoroughly absorbed in their dramas."

About the Author
James Lasdun has published three volumes of poetry and two story collections. His story "The Siege" was adapted by Bernardo Bertolucci for his film Besieged. He lives near Woodstock, New York.