Mrs. Demming and the Mythical Beast

by Faith Sullivan

When Larissa Demming, a seemingly happily married woman, encounters Pan, a creature sprung from the pages of Greek mythology or from her own wild yearnings, it leads her to a confrontation with her hidden past and secret desires

Genres: Fiction, Horror

407 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1988

About the author

Faith Sullivan was born and raised in southern Minnesota. Married to drama critic Dan Sullivan, she lived twenty-some years in New York and Los Angeles, returning to Minnesota often to keep her roots planted in the prairie. She is the author of Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse (2015), Gardenias (2005), What a Woman Must Do (2002), The Empress of One (1997), The Cape Ann (1988), Mrs. Demming and The Mythical Beast (1986), Watchdog (1982) and Repent, Lanny Merkel (1981). A “demon gardener, flea marketer, and feeder of birds,” Sullivan lives in Minneapolis with her husband. They have three grown children.

She is the winner of the Midwest Book Award, the Langum Prize for Historical Fiction, the Milkweed National Fiction Prize and the Ben Franklin Prize, and is a Minnesota Book Award Finalist.

Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t know how I feel about Mrs. Demming and the Mythical Beast…. I feel like it deserves more than three stars. It’s a book that moves slowly but leaves you thinking, wondering, and second guessing.

Don’t go in expecting a horror, it doesn’t satisfy the horror itch…. But it does satisfy something… just not sure what.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book. This is the second time I have read it. Unusual, to say the least. and fascinating! The setting and time seemed real to me. I have taken a class from Faith Sullivan...what a great experience!

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

fascinating

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I read it in the 1990's and have re-read it a few times, I recommend it to friends. I was completely blindsided by the psychological twist at the end.