IN THE HOUSE: A Story, A Myth & A Hellbent Beast

Matt Bell’s debut novel, In the House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods, is an unusual book. Callie Collins, Codirector of the new Austin-based small press A Strange Object, described it:

“Matt Bell’s debut novel, In the House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods, is first a story, a myth—a dreamlike examination of fatherhood and wilderness, of the turns of a marriage in the absence of all but the most basic elements of nature. Told by a voice at turns terrifying, brutal, hypnotic, and cyclical, In the House is other things, too: a plea and a tragedy and a challenge and an implication and a hellbent beast and a reimagining of the kind of mark fiction is supposed to make on its readers.”

Matt will appear in conversation with Callie here at BookPeople this Saturday, July 13 at 4pm. You can read an excerpt of In the House via NPR. While this is his debut novel, Matt’s no newcomer to the literary arts. He’s the Senior Editor at Dzanc Books and also edits the literary magazine The Collagist. We hope you can join us Saturday afternoon for the discussion. Bonus points if you can tell us the full title of the book without looking at the cover.

CRITICAL PRAISE FOR IN THE HOUSE:

“A terrifying and entirely spell-binding story about what it means to be a husband, a father, and, more simply, a man.” Mythili Rao, The Daily Beast

“…[A] gripping and tragic work of art. There’s always been a positivity to Bell’s writing underneath all that’s grim about it, perceptible as a love of the creative act itself… the success of this novel argues that there can be no defeat in total devotion to the work of making them.” David Rice, HTMLGIANT

“Put Italo Calvino, Cat Valente and the Grimm Brothers in a blender, and you get Matt Bell… an effing amazing debut novel. This is one hell of a book.” Liberty Hardy, Book Riot

“In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods is as difficult to describe as a dream. This onslaught of primordial imagination will confound, confront, and absolutely amaze you.” Jill Owens, Powell’s

“A deeply affecting, wildly inventive fable on parenthood and loss.” Chicago Tribune

“Bell puts the fable in fabulism… This spare, devastating novel… is as beautiful as it is ruinous. A tragedy of fantastic proportions, the book’s musical, often idiosyncratic prose will carry its readers into an unfamiliar but unforgettable world.” Molly McArdle, Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW

“Meticulously designed, with a particular focus on the musicality of its sentences… an unflinching portrait of the struggle to keep a family intact.” Kirkus Reviews

“A challenging, boldly experimental attempt at myth-building.” Publishers Weekly

“This is a fiercely original book—at once intimate and epic, visceral and philosophical—that sent me scurrying for adjectives, for precedents, for cover. Matt Bell commands the page with bold, vigorous prose and may well have invented the pulse-pounding novel of ideas.” Jess Walter, author of Beautiful Ruins and We Live in Water

“There is a power here that is almost overwhelming. The force of the writing is derived from something elemental and primal. Unlike anything I have read in a long time.” Charles Yu, author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe