Andrew Ervin grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs and has lived in Budapest, Illinois, and Louisiana. He has a degree in philosophy and religion from Goucher College and completed his MFA in fiction at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His criticism regularly appears in The New York Times Book Review, theaMiami Herald, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and elsewhere.aHe currently lives in Philadelphia with his wife, flutist Elivi Varga. He is the author of Extraordinary Renditions. Burning Down George Orwell's House is his first novel.
Praise for Burning Down George Orwell's House"Burning Down George
Orwell's House is really most enjoyable, a witty, original turn on
the life and memory of the Sage of Jura, taking place on the island
where he wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four. Eric Blair serves as the
McGuffin in this story, which is one part black comedy and one part
a meditation on modern life. It is well written and truly
original."
--Robert Stone, author of Dog Soldiers "As all good comedies do,
Ervin's novel contains a sober question at its core--in this case,
whether the idea of 'escape' itself is just another manipulation
sold to us 'proles' by the very same wired world that engulfs and
exhausts us. Take a wild guess what George Orwell would say."
--Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air "Burning Down George Orwell's
House is a sweet book full of delights. Since many of its best
passages are rhapsodies on single malt whiskies, one is tempted to
call it a wee bonny dram of a tale."
--The New York Times Book Review "A whisky-soaked hoot worth
hollering about."
--The Austin Chronicle"Big Brother might not be watching [Ray
Welter] but the island's eccentric locals sure are and also,
possibly, a werewolf. High comedy ensues as Welter tries to find
himself, Orwell and the savage beast."
--New York Post
"A glorious debut."
--The Philadelphia Inquirer "Wry and engaging . . . Nineteen
Eighty-Four casts a long shadow over countless books--but not this
one . . . Ervin has achieved something uniquely refreshing: a book
that shows the taste and restraint to pay knowing, affectionate and
humorous tribute to George Orwell without trying to prove him
right--or to create some redundant simulacrum of his work."
--Paste Magazine
"A breezy bit of fun for anyone who dreams of Scotland, enjoys a
wee dram of scotch and wonders what it might be like to leave
modern life behind--at least for a few hours."
--The Cleveland Plain Dealer"Follows in the tradition of classic
comedies where a supposedly cosmopolitan outsider tests his welcome
in an insular old-world village. Both come in for some good-natured
satire."
--Newsday "Besides the sheer entertainment that Burning Down George
Orwell's House provides, its value comes in its power to make
readers stop and take a close look at their own priorities."
--Bookreporter.com "Raises genuine questions about ambition,
change, and freedom. The novel never offers Ray or the reader
simplistic answers to life's questions, and it tempers Ray's misery
with comic moments. By the end, although Ray finds it impossible to
be truly off the grid, he does find his way back to himself.
Readers will enjoy going with him on that journey."
--Rain Taxi "You will get thirsty, and if you can muster up a fire
in a fireplace, you'll be set."
--Black Sheep Dances "Burning Down will appeal to those who have
wondered what ditching our smart phones and laptops would do to
make our lives less complicated. What geographically remote island
could we retreat to for some peace of mind and, obviously, some
world-class scotch?"
--The Santa Fe Writer's Project Quarterly "A dramatic, thoughtful,
and at times comic revisiting of (and attempt to escape from)
Orwell's world."
--Kirkus Reviews
"Captures the stark and chill atmosphere of the small island, on
which strangers are unwelcome and apparently very good whiskey is
consumed in copious quantities."
--Booklist "Ervin writes with skill and a penchant for the absurd .
. . Very funny."
--Library Journal "Ervin excels at atmosphere and fish-out-of-water
interactions."
--Publishers Weekly
"Who among us hasn't felt the urge to flee the giant mess we've
made of our life and just disappear off the grid, somewhere quiet
where we can lick our wounds and regroup? In this hilarious black
comedy, Ray Welter does just that, escaping a failed marriage and a
soul-crushing career, and retreating to the remote island in the
Scottish Hebrides where George Orwell wrote 1984."
--LitHub "Burning Down George Orwell's House is fiction as
high-wire act, and Ray Welter is a nowhere man for the ages, going
down and out in the shadow of the man himself. Ervin tosses up
hilarity and horror, musicality and menace, with page after page of
firecracker prose."
--Marlon James, author of A Brief History of Seven Killings"Burning
Down George Orwell's House is a wickedly funny novel soaked in wit
and whisky as well as a poetic revelation on consumer living. Ervin
ingeniously draws you into the disturbing world of Jura and its
menacing inhabitants. I loved it."
--Lisa O'Donnell, author of The Death of Bees"Ray
Welter--corrupted, debauched, cuckolded, fighting all the way
down--is a brilliant creation, and Andrew Ervin's Burning Down
George Orwell's House is a work of laudable mischief."
--Owen King, author of Double Feature"Beyond being a vastly
entertaining novel, cunningly observed and delicately flavored with
the very finest Scotch whisky on the planet, Burning Down George
Orwell's House is a serious meditation on just how Orwellian our
world has really become. Let Andrew Ervin help you imagine your way
to a world beyond Big Brother."
--Madison Smartt Bell, author of All Souls' Rising
Praise for "Burning Down George Orwell's House" "Burning Down
George Orwell s House"is really most enjoyable, a witty, original
turn on the life and memory of the Sage of Jura, taking place on
the island where he wrote"Nineteen Eighty-Four." Eric Blair serves
as the McGuffin in this story, which is one part black comedy and
one part a meditation on modern life. It is well written and truly
original.
Robert Stone, author of"Dog Soldiers
""As all good comedies do, Ervin's novel contains a sober question
at its core in this case, whether the idea of 'escape' itself is
just another manipulation sold to us 'proles' by the very same
wired world that engulfs and exhausts us. Take a wild guess what
George Orwell would say."
Maureen Corrigan, NPR's "Fresh Air"
""Burning Down George Orwell s House" is a sweet book full of
delights. Since many of its best passages are rhapsodies on single
malt whiskies, one is tempted to call it a wee bonny dram of a
tale."
" The New York Times Book Review"
"A whisky-soaked hoot worth hollering about."
" The Austin Chronicle""Big Brother might not be watching [Ray
Welter] but the island s eccentric locals sure are and also,
possibly, a werewolf. High comedy ensues as Welter tries to find
himself, Orwell and the savage beast."
" New York Post
"
"A glorious debut."
" The Philadelphia Inquirer"
"Wry and engaging . . . "Nineteen Eighty-Four" casts a long shadow
over countless books but not this one . . . Ervin has achieved
something uniquely refreshing: a book that shows the taste and
restraint to pay knowing, affectionate and humorous tribute to
George Orwell without trying to prove him right or to create some
redundant simulacrum of his work."
" Paste Magazine
"
"A breezy bit of fun for anyone who dreams of Scotland, enjoys a
wee dram of scotch and wonders what it might be like to leave
modern life behind at least for a few hours."
"The Cleveland Plain Dealer""Follows in the tradition of classic
comedies where a supposedly cosmopolitan outsider tests his welcome
in an insular old-world village. Both come in for some good-natured
satire."
" Newsday"
"Besides the sheer entertainment that "Burning Down George Orwell's
House" provides, its value comes in its power to make readers stop
and take a close look at their own priorities."
Bookreporter.com
"Raises genuine questions about ambition, change, and freedom. The
novel never offers Ray or the reader simplistic answers to life s
questions, and it tempers Ray s misery with comic moments. By the
end, although Ray finds it impossible to be truly off the grid, he
does find his way back to himself. Readers will enjoy going with
him on that journey."
Rain Taxi
"You will get thirsty, and if you can muster up a fire in a
fireplace, you'll be set."
Black Sheep Dances
""Burning Down"will appeal to those who have wondered what ditching
our smart phones and laptops would do to make our lives less
complicated. What geographically remote island could we retreat to
for some peace of mind and, obviously, some world-class
scotch?"
" The Santa Fe Writer's Project Quarterly
""A dramatic, thoughtful, and at times comic revisiting of (and
attempt to escape from) Orwell's world."
"Kirkus Reviews"
"Captures the stark and chill atmosphere of the small island, on
which strangers are unwelcome and apparently very good whiskey is
consumed in copious quantities."
" Booklist"
"Ervin writes with skill and a penchant for the absurd . . . Very
funny."
" Library Journal"
"Ervin excels at atmosphere and fish-out-of-water
interactions."
" Publishers Weekly
"
"Who among us hasn t felt the urge to flee the giant mess we ve
made of our life and just disappear off the grid, somewhere quiet
where we can lick our wounds and regroup? In this hilarious black
comedy, Ray Welter does just that, escaping a failed marriage and a
soul-crushing career, and retreating to the remote island in the
Scottish Hebrides where George Orwell wrote "1984."""
"LitHub"
" "Burning Down George Orwell s House" is fiction as high-wire act,
and Ray Welter is a nowhere man for the ages, going down and out in
the shadow of the man himself. Ervin tosses up hilarity and horror,
musicality and menace, with page after page of firecracker
prose.
Marlon James, author of "A Brief History of Seven Killings"
"Burning Down George Orwell s House" is a wickedly funny novel
soaked in wit and whisky as well as a poetic revelation on consumer
living. Ervin ingeniously draws you into the disturbing world of
Jura and its menacing inhabitants. I loved it.
Lisa O Donnell, author of "The Death of Bees" Ray Welter corrupted,
debauched, cuckolded, fighting all the way down is a brilliant
creation, and Andrew Ervin s "Burning Down George Orwell s House"
is a work of laudable mischief.
Owen King, author of "Double Feature" Beyond being a vastly
entertaining novel, cunningly observed and delicately flavored with
the very finest Scotch whisky on the planet, "Burning Down George
Orwell s House" is a serious meditation on just how Orwellian our
world has really become. Let Andrew Ervin help you imagine your way
to a world beyond Big Brother.
Madison Smartt Bell, author of "All Souls Rising""
Praise for "Burning Down George Orwell's House"
"A dramatic, thoughtful, and at times comic revisiting of (and
attempt to escape from) Orwell's world."
"--Kirkus Reviews "
""Burning Down George Orwell's House" is really most enjoyable, a
witty, original turn on the life and memory of the Sage of Jura,
taking place on the island where he wrote "Nineteen Eighty-Four."
Eric Blair serves as the McGuffin in this story, which is one part
black comedy and one part a meditation on modern life. It is
well-written and truly original."
--Robert Stone
"Ray Welter--corrupted, debauched, cuckolded, fighting all the way
down--is a brilliant creation, and Andrew Ervin's "Burning Down
George Orwell's House" is a work of laudable mischief."
--Owen King, author of "Double Feature: A Novel"
"Beyond being a vastly entertaining novel, cunningly observed and
delicately flavored with the very finest Scotch whisky on the
planet, "Burning Down George Orwell's House" is a serious
meditation on just how Orwellian our world has really become. Let
Andrew Ervin help you imagine your way to a world beyond Big
Brother."
--Madison Smartt Bell
Praise for "Extraordinary Renditions"
"Set in a madly grasping modern Budapest, literary critic Ervin's
debut mines very different ways of achieving personal and artistic
freedom in three neatly polished, interlocking tales . . . With
dexterous sensibility and fluid prose, Ervin's protagonists find
liberation from the onerous strictures of Budapest's Nazi and
Communist past."
--"Publishers Weekly," Starred Review; a "PW" Best Book of the
Year
"Through the eyes of three outsiders, "Extraordinary Renditions"
takes the reader deep into the heart of Budapest, both its past and
present. The whole city is here, the banks of the Danube brimming
with history, intrigue, art, food, drink, and most important of
all, music. His characters may be lost--even the one native is a
foreigner--but Andrew Ervin is a sharp-eyed, sure-handed
guide."
--Stewart O'Nan
"I can't decide what amazes me most about this book: the confident,
muscular beauty of Andrew Ervin's writing; the breadth of his
imagination; or the depth and diversity of his profoundly engaging
characters. "Extraordinary Renditions" is an extraordinary
debut."
--Julia Glass, author of National Book Award winner "Three
Junes"
"Makes a poignant case for the power of art in an age of war."
--"Minneapolis Star Tribune"
Praise for "Extraordinary Renditions"
"Set in a madly grasping modern Budapest, literary critic Ervin's
debut mines very different ways of achieving personal and artistic
freedom in three neatly polished, interlocking tales . . . With
dexterous sensibility and fluid prose, Ervin's protagonists find
liberation from the onerous strictures of Budapest's Nazi and
Communist past."
--"Publishers Weekly", Starred Review; a "PW" Best Book of the
Year
"Through the eyes of three outsiders, "Extraordinary Renditions"
takes the reader deep into the heart of Budapest, both its past and
present. The whole city is here, the banks of the Danube brimming
with history, intrigue, art, food, drink, and most important of
all, music. His characters may be lost--even the one native is a
foreigner--but Andrew Ervin is a sharp-eyed, sure-handed
guide."
--Stewart O'Nan
"I can't decide what amazes me most about this book: the confident,
muscular beauty of Andrew Ervin's writing; the breadth of his
imagination; or the depth and diversity of his profoundly engaging
characters. "Extraordinary Renditions" is an extraordinary
debut."
--Julia Glass, author of National Book Award winner "Three
Junes"
"Makes a poignant case for the power of art in an age of war."
--"Minneapolis Star Tribune"
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