...with nothing to show for it, except a dream of winning the Boston Marathon. Anyone who has struggled with accepting the responsibility of adulthood -- marriage, children, a "real" job -- will appreciate Myle's desire to escape by running everywhere around Cambridge and Boston, with an obsession that borders on madness. I really enjoyed the way this book blended hilarious situations like Myles "sleep-running" through the subways at night with the dangerous and dark ways his obsession jeopardizes his marriage, friendships, even his own physical and mental health. I highly recommend the book!

I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked this book up at a used book store. I had never read anything by this author and it is his first book so I was slightly apprehensive.

I shouldn't have been. The author slowly brings you in to the world of these characters who are well developed and complex. The relationship between Janet and Lucien was almost excruciating for me to read because it was so real to me. The author perfectly describes how you can get involved with a person who you know you shouldn't. How you can convince yourself the person has changed or wasn't as bad as you thought and then the progression of how you then see reality, of who you are and who they are.

Do not read it if you are depressed at all because this book will do nothing to lift your spirits but it will make you think.

Also, this book is definately sexual. If that sort of thing offends you, do not read it.

I loved the idea of this book; there's nothing like a good send-up of the academic world. But it was the writing style that turned me off. While I'll admit my vocabulary expanded by leaps and bounds the further and further I read, it started to feel a little pretentious, and the story didn't move along quickly enough to keep my attention riveted. But, if you like extremely dry, prosaic humor, you'll still find many reasons to enjoy this book.

Everyone knows at least one Norman Abbot de Ratour. The museum world and academia seem to attract his type, so having him as the protaganist of this mystery was perfect. Norman is a middle aged, single, never married, fussy, prissy, pretentious man. He hides behind the barrage of memos over the "correct procedure" for everything from where the annual Christmas party should be held to meeting procedures, etc.

Norman's ordered life is assaulted at every angle by the modern world, the slovenly museum business manager, and the attempts by Wainscott University to take over the governance of his beloved Museum of Man. Into this mix, the visiting Dean from Wainscott University is murdered and his remains seem to have been feasted upon and prepared by a gourmet chef. The attending scandal on his beloved museum is more than Norman can stand, so he decides to solve the mystery himself.

The book is written as an unofficial Museum of Man journal by Recording Secretary Norman de Ratour. You feel the pain of this man as he tries to come to grips with the fact that his ordered "civilized" world doesn't really exist anymore. We also learn about his lost love, Elsbeth. One hears so much about her, that it isn't even a surprise when she appears in the last quarter of the book. Not a natural detective, Norman makes many false starts and wonders how best to proceed, trying to draw on the few detective stories he has read.

The book takes great joy poking fun at academia, museums, governing bodies, committees, etc. The meetings where the Wainscott oversight committee looks into the proposed exhibit on Neanderthal life is hysterical. My only complaint about the book is that it proceeds along at a leisurely, drawn out pace for 4/5 of the book then - bam we are rushed to an ending that makes sense but seems to come somewhat out of left field.

If you have worked in museums, academia, or similar environments you will enjoy this book. If you want a good, interesting and amusing read you will enjoy this book. However, if you are looking for a fast read, look elsewhere.

I love books that are so well-crafted that I want to read every sentence two or three times, and this is one of them. "Murder in the Museum of Man" can be read on a number of levels: the absurdity of academic life, Norman's position as Recording Secretary (writ large in Norman's mind), Norman's love life (or lack thereof), and of course the murder mystery itself. One of the funniest sequences is a departmental discussion on how to create a politically correct diorama of Neanderthal man (and woman). EVERYONE seems to be offended by at least one aspect of the proposal, from the color of the models' skin (the apparent compromise position is a tartan plaid) to the type of animal roasting on a spit (wild pig offends the Jews, cow offends the Hindus, etc.) to whether the food will be attended by a female model (stereotyping females as domestics) or a male (stereotyping great chefs as men). Norman faithfully records every hilarious detail, seemingly without cracking a smile of his own. This is Mr. Alcorn's first murder mystery. I hope he writes many more.