Connoisseur Book

Why is this book not considered an American classic? I loved every word of this simple, haunting story. On a business trip to New Mexico, Muhlbach, a widower with 2 children who works in insurance, falls in love with a small statue in a junk shop. Initially, he couldn't care less about its authenticity, but in the space of a few hours his life is going to take a new direction as he stops at the University of Albuquerque to have his find authenticated, then starts buying books on the Mayas. Back in New York, Muhlback can't stop thinking about the New Mexican landscapes and fantasizes about relocating out there, out of reach of vulgar Eula who is so obviously trying to get him to marry her. Muhlbach plays dumb and only seeks out people who can further his new pursuit. Holmgren, a compulsive collector of baskets, introduces him to the mercurial auctioneer Wesley Piglett. Since he struck lucky with his first purchase, Muhlbach can't resist bidding for a jade mask, even though he notices that none of the dealers present at the auction shows any interest in the object. Undeterred by this costly mistake, Muhlback continues seeking experts in his new field. After a long evening with collector Claude Varda, Muhlbach's passion reaches fever pitch. He makes his way to the gallery of Arthur Guy and his partner Maureen, who explain to him why his purchase at the auction must be a fake. At the end of a long session where the gallerists seem to have generously shared all their knowledge with him, Muhlbach commits very serious money to buy one of their items on an installment plan. Even this extravagant acquisition doesn't calm his new lust, and on the last page of the book we see him apostrophizing yet another Mayan or pseudo-Mayan sculpture sitting in the window of a bric-a-brac shop in the Village: "Speak! Speak! he commands the hunchback. Tell me everything I need to know." A lot of the the novel is told through dialogue, with Muhlbach's thoughts as counterpoint. I just loved the way Connell describes Muhlbach's sudden obsession with Pre-Columbian culture, and the way in which it gives new meaning to his life, possibly lifting him out of depression (we know absolutely nothing about his dead wife). While his new interest energizes him, of course it also threatens his bank balance, and maybe even his sanity. This book goes right to the core of the fascinating subject of why certain people become collectors, and why they collect what they collect. Why authenticity matters, and why it is so elusive and almost impossible to establish in the case of many objects. I knew nothing about this author before picking up this book, except that he was the author of "Mr Bridge" and "Mrs Bridge", but found out on wikipedia that he died in Santa Fe, having therefore made the move contemplated by Muhlbach. It's not inconceivable I should start collecting Connell's books.