A group of four down-on-their-luck strangers respond to a classified ad offering a strange bargain: live free of charge in an old man's house, and help him to prevent the city from having the building demolished.
This is a strange, often comic, sometimes frightening novel that sticks so closely to depicting only what the characters themselves notice that, if you're not paying close attention, it's possible to miss that you're reading a science fiction story until the very last chapter.
Gene Wolfe was born in Texas. After dropping out from Texas A&M University, he served in the Korean War, and later graduated from the University of Houston. He worked first as an engineer, notably designing part of the machine that produces Pringles potatoe chips, and later as the editor of a professional engineering magazine, *Plant Engineering*.
Wolfe was a prolific writer, publishing over 30 novels and hundreds of short stories in his life. He was known for the complexity of his narratives and the depth of his characters, frequently using unreliable or fallible narrators to enhance his thematic focus on memory. His work explores topics of morality, often through the lens of his Catholic faith.
Primarily recognized for his science fiction and fantasy works, Wolfe received a litany of recognition in those genres including the British Science Fiction, World Fantasy, British Fantasy, Locus, Nebula, and Campbell Memorial Awards. In 2012 he was recognized as the 29th Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
Information from [Tor Publishing][1] and [The New Yorker][2].
[1]: https://www.tor.com/2019/04/15/gene-wolfe-in-memoriam-1931-2019/
[2]: https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/sci-fis-difficult-genius
