Burton Rembrandt has the sort of perspective on life that is almost impossible for adults to understand: that of an eight-year-old. And to Burt, his parents and teachers seem to be speaking a language he cannot understand. This is Burt s story as written in pencil on the walls of the Quiet Room in the Children s Trust Residence Center, where he lands after expressing his ardent feelings for a classmate. It begins: "When I was five I killed myself." Rarely has a child s particular frame of mind been so indelibly set down on the page as in this extraordinary novel. In "When I Was Five I Killed Myself," Howard Buten renders with astounding insight and wry language the tale of a young boy testing the boundaries of love and life."

Author Biography

Howard Buten, the author of seven novels published in France, is a performing artist known as Buffo the clown, who has played opera houses around the world. In 1991, he was named a Chevalier des Artes et Lettres, France s highest literary honor. He divides his time between New York and Paris."