Synopses & Reviews
The Devil Wears Prada of the book publishing world, this biting satire is a trenchant portrait of the contemporary obsession with success, celebrity, and fame
Jim Talbot, a writer with a dozen unpublished novels under his belt, has been roundly rejected by virtually every agent and publisher in the land, and is willing to go to extreme lengths to make his dream of literary stardom come true. Charles Randall, the eccentric founder and managing director of Tetragon Press, a small independent publisher that has managed to survive for 30 years in a fierce publishing environment dominated by corporate juggernauts, is about to be brutally sacked by a newly appointed business consultant. In the cut-throat world of modern publishing, Charles and Jim's paths towards literary salvation are fraught with the most unpredictable dangers. A novel of intrigue, deceit, and sheer desperation, this is a caustic portrait of contemporary culture and of the literary world's obsession with fame, success, and becoming the next J. K. Rowling.
Review
"Gallenzi . . . slips in sound insider's judgements on how this business works. Read it for the lowdown on the low trade." —Independent
Review
"A cutting satire on the publishing world." —Times
Review
"Light yet serious, funny and painful, somewhat fantastic yet shot through with truth." —Scotsman
Review
"Entertaining." —Publishers Weekly
Review
"[A] sly, tongue-in-cheek novel that will leave readers in stitches of laughter." —Booklist
About the Author
Alessandro Gallenzi is the founder of Hesperus Press, Alma Books, and Oneworld Classics, and the successor of John Calder at the helm of Calder Publications. As well as being a literary publisher he is a prize-winning translator, a poet, a playwright, and a novelist.