Fool on the Hill (novel)

Fool on the Hill

first US hardcover edition
Author Matt Ruff
Cover artist original jacket illustration by Andrew Paquette; design by Chip Kidd
Country United States
Language English
Genre Fantasy
Publisher The Atlantic Monthly Press
Publication date
 1988
Media type Print
Pages 396
ISBN 0-87113-243-5
Followed by Sewer, Gas & Electric

Fool on the Hill (ISBN 0-8021-3535-8) is a 1988 comic fantasy novel by Matt Ruff, set at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

Plot summary

The novel is the story of two authors. Cornell University resident and author Stephen Titus George finds that his real life is becoming the main plot of a retired god, known as Mr. Sunshine. Mr. Sunshine, as god, prefers to create his works in real life instead of on paper. Stephen Titus George decides to fight with Mr. Sunshine about the authorship and outcome of the work.

On the stage of Cornell campus a rich set of secondary characters appears, like Cornell student Aurora Borealis Smith with whom Stephen Titus George falls in love, Ragnarok, the Bohemians, a dog named Luther, a cat named Blackjack, Puck, Calliope, a fire-breathing paper dragon as well as evil forces like Rasferret the Grub, a mannequin called Rubbermaid and an army of rats. The drama then unfolds, telling the story of the battle between Good and Evil and the efforts of the two authors to write the story towards either a happy ending or a tragic greek drama.

External links