The Keeper’s Scourge We follow the thought processes of a reclusive, obsessive-compulsive, neurotic man and his daily challenges. It’s a black comedy. The majority of the trouble is inconveniences and aggravation he causes to his neighbors and most of the people with which he comes in contact. A dog shows up at his apartment, and at first he resists the dog’s affection. Eventually, he decides he prefers animals over people and tolerates—maybe even starts to like—the odd-looking black pug. The real trouble begins when his little pug friend runs into a burning building. The dog wedges through a small space, responding to the sounds of distressed people. Our character runs after the dog, ripping the front door, which had been blocking the young school teacher from escaping with the kids, off its hinges. He finds the pug and pulls it out with another child, only because the pug wouldn’t let go of the child’s pant leg. Firefighter and news crews arrive and hail him is a hero, garnering him the attention he hates. We follow his journey doing everything he can to remove himself from the spotlight. He attempts on multiple occasions throughout the book to show himself in a bad light but always ends up achieving the opposite somehow. The grumpy 60-something-year-old eventually accomplishes his misanthropic mission by ruining a city-wide event: the unveiling of a statue commemorating the city’s first mayor. Our recluse commissions a nude statue of his very out-of-shape body and hires a bunch of thugs to replace the mayor’s statue with his own before the unveiling. When the curtain comes off at the ceremony, spectators are horrified, and children laugh as their parents try to cover their eyes. It’s mayhem. Our protagonist walks away grinning.