Line #5 Literature/AFineAndPrivatePlace

Context Literature / AFineAndPrivatePlace

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1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a_fine_and_private_place.png]]
2	''A Fine and Private Place'' is a fantasy novel by Creator/PeterSBeagle, first published in 1960.
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4	Jonathan Rebeck lives secretly in a large cemetery which he hasn't set foot out of in years, kept company by a talking raven that brings him food and by such ghosts as still take an interest. As the novel progresses, he becomes acquainted with the troubles of two recently-interred ghosts, Michael and Laura, and also encounters a living visitor to the cemetery who might give him reason to finally return to the land of the living.
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6	[[SimilarlyNamedWorks Not to be confused]] with the Creator/ElleryQueen novel of the same name.
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8	!!This novel contains examples of:
9	* AmbiguousEnding: [[spoiler:Rebeck's plan to help Michael and Laura requires him to leave the cemetery. When he does, he loses the ability to see ghosts, so he -- and thus the audience -- has no way to know for sure whether the plan worked.]]
10	* ArtisticLicenseOrnithology: That a raven in a fantasy novel should be a bit out of the usual range for ravens is no big deal ... but a quick look at a field guide would have told the author that ravens are completely black, and do not have golden eyes, yellow bills or yellow feet.
11	* CleverCrows: The raven helps and cares for Jonathan Rebeck, bringing him food and, later, news. Subverts the traditional [[CreepyCrows creepiness of corvids]]; despite being a TalkingAnimal, the raven is one of the most down-to-earth and least eldritch things in the book.
12	* ConditionalPowers: Rebeck's ability to see ghosts and speak with the raven is connected to his liminal existence in the cemetery; when he leaves at the end of the novel he loses both.
13	* DeadToBeginWith: Michael and Laura.
14	* DidIJustSayThatOutLoud: Happens to Rebeck when Michael and Laura are arguing about which of them will last longest before fading away:
15	-->''"Oh, for God's sake," Mr. Rebeck thought, "shut up!"\
16	Not until he saw the astonished looks on their faces did he realize he had said it aloud.''
17	* GhostAmnesia: Ghosts gradually forget their lives, and become less detailed and less definite in appearance as they forget what they looked like. Michael has an additional issue where, even newly-dead, he can't remember exactly how he died.
18	* ISeeDeadPeople: Jonathan Rebeck possesses this power.
19	* LiteraryAllusionTitle: "The grave's a fine and private place / But none, I think, do there embrace." (Creator/AndrewMarvell, "To His Coy Mistress")
20	%%* OurGhostsAreDifferent
21	* SuicideIsShameful: Near the end of the book, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Michael poisoned himself. As a result of this discovery, his body is to be removed from hallowed ground, also parting him from Laura]].
22	* TalkingAnimal: Rebeck can understand the raven's speech, although it's suggested that this is a consequence of Rebeck's condition and not a sign that the raven is anything special.

Context Literature / AFineAndPrivatePlace