![[cover]](../covers/0312868367.gif)
by Gene Wolfe
isbn: 0312868367
subject: Fiction and Literature
finished: 2/3/2001
Benjamin Free puts the following advertisement in a Chicago newspaper:
FREE LIVE FREE. Live w me, pay no rt. Hlp sv hs. B Free, 808 S 38th.Four odd characters -- an unlicensed private detective, a witch, a prostitute, and a salesman -- respond to the ad and move into Free's condemned house but are soon forced to find new lodging after being unable to prevent its demolition. They then band together in order to recover a valuable object that Free said he had hidden inside one of the house's walls. The strange truth about Free and the object he hid eventually comes out, but only after the four have some convoluted and increasingly surreal adventures. The implied ending of the book, which was foreshadowed early on, is somewhat satisfying and somewhat frustrating since it leaves many things unanswered.
Free Live Free contains Wolfe's characteristic intricate plot and sharp, pragmatic characters who have been misjudged by the people around them. Uncharacteristically, it's also pretty funny. Although I wouldn't count this among Wolfe's easier or more satisfying books, it's still beautifully written, thought provoking, and a page turner.