The Perfect Man: A Novel

This book is so enthralling. I read it for a class, and everyone was blown away by Murr’s ability to make a town full of three-dimensional characters. Throughout, you’ll be totally engrossed in the story and the characters.

This book was a mixed bag for me. On the one hand the coming-of-age narrative of a close group of young beautiful people was one I followed with interest, compassion, humour. The very imperfect grown-up world they inhabit was presented harshly. At times this world was funny and entertaining, but mostly I found it a confusing and threatening world, with exception of Ruth. For me it was just that bit too gritty, too ugly and threatening. Particularly the chilling descriptions of the crimes committed by Magnus and the other men were uncomfortable to say the least. Do we as flawed adults really become so self-obsessed and make such a mess of our worlds and those of our young people? Or is this no allegory, just a story aboout one place, one time and one group of people and their lives? Was this a story of hope? A criticism on human nature, or a reaffirmation? Or all of the above? The story left me with many more questions at the end than I had before reading.The story flicked backward and forward a bit, which really worked well. It gave events in the novel a gradual revelation, building up suspense in the novel just nicely.Some of the characters were worked out really convincingly, but I found myself unsatisfied about some of the characters. Probably because Murr hints at certain thngs about certain characters, but then does not allow the reader to get to know them better. That's mean! Similarly with the storyline, there were certain tangents the story hinted at, that were just not worked out any further.I loved Raj, Annie and Ruth. I loved their integrity, although I wanted to know so much more about Ruth and Raj's relationhip and how they touched each other's lives. I found them amazing, their strength and stability, their sense of right and wrong, even though neither of them had any reason to be like that. Their goodness and character an integral quality, rather than a consequence of nurture, it seems to me. It's the natural way we all want to be good.Murr is incontestably Wise, uses images and ideas which in turn refresh, shock, entertain and endear.Throughout this story he portrays indeed the perfect man' "Brutally powerful, morbidly sensitve",which suggests that such a man would have power but be cautious about its use, would value how loved he was. Would know that "it is never sufficient to love; you must have faith in those who love you too."Like Dickens, Murr recognises the shaping influences a particular place and its people can have. This place, Pisgah, connects the people in the novel, through a collection of experiences, memories and its very landscape, so that the characters are inseparable on some level for the rest of their lives. Even many miles away and years later, Raj's life is still moulded and affected by that small town he came to by some kind of bizarre act of providence years before. This was recognisable to me too. We all have experiences of places in our lives which shape us forever, and try as we may, we can never walk away from experiences, people and the living we have done there.The recognition by Raj of knowing what he wants out of life, having made his choices, but still sometimes struggling with these choices, "...he had remained silent just long enough", was very real too. I found it encouraging that in an era where adultery and dishonesty are glorified, Murr keeps him faithful and him and Annie together as a family.

The Perfect Man introduces a cast of characters simultaneously realistic and fantastic. Their flaws--some serious, some deadly, some amusing--and foibles clearly resonate, and their actions and encounters--some mundane, some outrageous--are always true to character. This is an ambitious work and a must for any reader who enjoys clever plot development as well as witty, sensitive description.

This is quite an absorbing book. I'm surprised to see so few reviews. For me it started off slowly, but I gradually was drawn into the intimate stories of the people in this town. I love the way the author details the sometimes shocking secrets of these seemingly ordinary characters, and also the ways mysteries are ultimately revealed. Excellent writing.

This is wonderful book and the title is a little misleading. I enjoyed it very much and my book club had a great discussion about it.

As a high school Librarian I read a lot of books. One of our English teacher's recommended this and I was blown away. It is a very rich story of an ensemble of different types of people.

I knew nothing of the book nor had I ever heard of the author. I picked up and read this book based solely on the title. Being fairly frequently reminded that I am not a perfect man, and that I have a long way to go to get there, I was curious to find what this unknown author might have to say about "the perfect man." Alas, I didn't find the answer to perfection, but I did find a wonderful story.As I jumped into this one, the story came alive with great characters, beginning in post-war London and moving quickly to, of all places, 1950s very small-town America, Pisgah, Missouri, which lies essentially near the center of the state, deep in America's heartland, and along the banks of the Missouri River; certainly neither a place nor a time that would willingly accept a dark-skinned foreigner with a name like "Rajiv". It made for a great story, for sure worthy of a strong four-star rating. However, at the very end of the book, I found the final chapter to be so strong, so engaging and so optimistic that this strong four-star story was pushed over the brink to a five-star gem of a story.I think the story of Raj, the Indian-born boy who ends up in Missouri by way of London, is a story of many, many levels - levels that deserve to be given an in-depth analysis by people much more capable of such analysis than I. However, I do opine that Murr is outstanding at creating the atmosphere of this small town, displaying to the reader the town's eccentricities and prejudices, the dark secrets of its families and social cliques, the love that bound its young characters, and the love-turned-to-hate, spite and despair that embroiled many of the adults and decayed marital, familial and community relationships. Murr intertwines and juxtaposes not only love and hate through the characters and the small community, but also vanity and humility, selfishness and charity, fidelity and infidelity, trust and distrust, hope and despair, bravery and cowardice. As I read deeper into the story, and the secrets of the community continually unfolded - sometimes shockingly - I was totally engaged.A final aspect I found particularly of interest in this book were the sections after the final chapter: a conversation with the author, who had himself spent some portion of his life living in Columbia, Missouri, and the "Questions and Topics for Discussion" section. Reading the author's perspectives and occasionally reviewing the questions/topics section helped me keep in mind some of the objectives of the story and recognize different levels and focal points of the story's characters, plot and subplots.The only warning I can give is that the story does not unfold chronologically. Each chapter begins with a year, and the reader should pay attention to which year is about to be exposed, else you might find yourself temporarily confused as to where in the chronology of the story the events are unfolding.In summary, I really enjoyed this book; found it very engrossing and would recommend it to anyone who desires good depth to a story and great characters.

For a moment I thought I would give this book four stars and not five, probably because despite its qualities, I felt a sense of unease at some of its contents. Then I realised it would hardly be fair. The quality of the prose in itself, the excellent portrayal of the many characters really deserved five stars even though I will never be able to say it is a book I loved, rather, I will say that it is an excellent book I read. To sum up very briefly an Anglo Indian 12-year-old finds himself in a small town in the USA in the 50's, left with his uncle's girlfriend when another uncle and aunt who had given him shelter but no love or support whatsoever decide they can't stand the sight of him anymore. Rajiv has to adapt to a small narrow-minded community (but not worse than what he left behind in England)and makes new friends whose lives he will deeply influence.I loved the way in which the author made all his characters so alive and real , it might be a slight pity that so many of them are, to say the least, weird.There's Salvatore, a cowardly and foul-mouthed Italian shopkeeper, his bored and depressed Polish wife and their lovely daughter Annie,who has to bear more than her fair share of trouble,there's frightening reverend Hewitt ,his unloved and sour wife and their mentally disturbed son,there's Nora 's father as creepy as can be, pouncing on his mature-looking growing daughter whenever he has a chance to see her naked and many more variations. It is undeniably cleverly crafted and grips you until the end. It is also very cruel and sometimes unsettling.