I like this book. Langer takes issue here with the art of lying, or, as it is framed in this novel, what it takes to make it on the literary scene. His protagonist, Ian Minot, is a coffee shop worker and struggling writer living in New York City. He has sent out manuscripts and letters to numerous agents and publishing companies over the years, but nobody even offers him a second look. He spends most of his time resenting and hating those who do make it as authors. Especially people like Blade Markham, whose "memoir" Blade by Blade about Markham's thug life seems too ridiculous to be true. Why can't any of the characters in Blade by Blade be verified? "Because they all dead, yo."Sooner or later Minot comes into contact with Jed Roth, a former big shot editor (note left in Roth's former employer's library: "To Geoff, Thanks for all the corrections, Jon Franzen") with much disdain for his old industry. Roth wants Minot to resubmit the 10-year-old manuscript of Roth's first book effort, The Thief of Manhattan: A Novel by Jed Roth, as The Thief of Manhattan: a Memoir by Ian Minot. Because after Minot has reaped the benefits of his memoir, he can announce his lies, spite the book industry, and drum up interest in his real fiction. Shapes up to be quite the story.
And it is! But I won't divulge any more details.
The gist of it is this book is much fun to read. It even comes with a glossary in the back to help with the literary slang that hits its pages like speeding highsmiths or piercing hammets (pahlaniuk - to vomit). So yeah. Cool book.
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