Omensetter's Luck
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 Cover of first edition | |
| Author | William H. Gass |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | New American Library |
Publication date | 1966 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 336 pp |
Omensetter's Luck is the first novel by William H. Gass, published in 1966.
Gass began writing Omensetter's Luck around 1954. He was working on the last chapter of the novel in 1958 when the manuscript was stolen off his desk, forcing him to begin rewriting the book from scratch. He says of this time, "I was in a funk, a kind of fugue state. I reconstructed the book by working almost nonstop for about six months."[1] The novel was eventually published in 1966 and has gone through many editions, both foreign and domestic, and remains in print today.
Plot
Omensetter's Luck takes place in the 1890s in the fictitious town of Gilean, Ohio. The story is bookended by the story of Brackett Omensetter who arrives with his family to settle down. The middle (and the bulk) of the novel is devoted to the spiritual and mental degradation of the town's priest, Jethro Furber, who is jealous of Omensetter's magnetic personality and the luck that seems to underpin Omensetter's existence.
After a meeting to receive his monthly rent, Omensetter's landlord, Henry Pimber, disappears and is found much later, dead. Omensetter's luck changes soon after, forcing him to abandon Gilean, leaving the locals to question the role of Omensetter in Pimber's death.