Headhunter (novel)

Against this backdrop Lilah Kemp, a schizophrenic spiritualist "of intense but undisciplined powers", accidentally sets Kurtz free from page 92 of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and is forced to find a Marlow to defeat him.

Although the reader is clearly meant to see the parallels between Findley's Kurtz and Marlow and Conrad's original characters, the book is deliberately ambiguous about whether Lilah Kemp has really performed this act of literary magic, or is merely crazy enough to think she has.

[2] Melton further stated that the novel is "at once dazzling, mind-blowing, and unrelentingly grim", as well as "a wonderfully dark satire, a horrifying tale of decadence and evil, and a savagely witty commentary on human society.

"[3] Publishers Weekly also highlighted how Findley [...] creates witty literary allusions", pointing specifically to a character who "is a contemporary Emma Bovary" and "another [...] named Jay Gatz".

[2] Despite an overall positive review, Publishers Weekly noted some mixed thoughts: "Some passages are brilliant, glittering with insights, while others bear the marks of haste and melodramatic excess.