Synopses & Reviews
Once a hapless and jobless screenwriter struggling for daily affirmation, Miles Raymond has now earned the American dream as a celebrated author whose simple novel inspired a generation of wine drinkers and made the Santa Ynez Valley an international destination. As his ascent continues, Miles is asked to host the International Pinot Noir Celebration in Oregon — so the journey of
Vertical begins. With his erstwhile, now predictably divorced buddy and friend Jack, Miles heads north to the Willamette Valley-only this time with the counterweight of Miles's ailing mother and her Filipina nurse. There's wine and experience ahead for sure, but as always with Miles and Jack not all of it "quaffable."
Rex Pickett's follow-up to the 2004 blockbuster novel and movie Sideways shows his dependable ability to paint a 21st Century America on the road and on the bottle. The story draws startling contrasts of fame and illusion, beauty and savagery, and revelations about the bonds that endure and matter through it all. Pickett is a master at describing the in-between moments of life, with their reflective and larger meanings for an America full past mealtime. Miles and Jack are comical Kerouackian witnesses to their own empty sky-this time in the Pinot promised land of bountiful and beautiful coastal Oregon and the Willamette Valley. Their pursuit of significance in their own eyes reflects the vulnerabilities and wounds of a generation longing for the next glass — only to find it as it was before the first pour: lacking, but not without promise — and hilarious moments.
Vertical — a wine term with triple entendre here — carries on the simple brilliance of Sideways, depicting and defining meaning in the small, trapped corners of modern American life. Pickett keeps you laughing as you find a road trip with more than a few unexpected turns.
Review
"Rex Pickett shows that his gift for creating wildly funny scenes is quite intact... The book is laugh-out-loud funny." Paul Jameson, New York Journal of Books
Review
"Sideways, ....is arguably the most influential wine-themed book that became a film in American history.... Now we have the follow up story in Vertical..." Steve Heimoff, Wine Enthusiast
Synopsis
The follow-up novel to the blockbuster Sideways tracks the continuing story of Miles Raymond and his buddy Jack. It's seven years later. Miles has written a novel that has been made into a wildly successful movie, and the movie has changed his life. Jack, contrarily, is divorced, has a kid, and is on the skids. Phyllis, Miles's mom, has suffered a stroke that's left her wheelchair-bound and wasting away in assisted-living. She desperately wants to live with her sister in Wisconsin. When Miles gets invited to be master of ceremonies at a Pinot Noir festival in Oregon, he hatches a harebrained road trip. With Jack as his co-pilot, he leases a handicapped-equipped rampvan, hires a pot-smoking Filipina caretaker and, with his mother's rascally Yorkie in tow, they take off for Wisconsin via Oregon's fabled Willamette Valley, where Miles is Master of ceremonies of the International Pinot Festival. It is a road novel for the smart set and wine lover, and anything but predictable.
About the Author
Rex Pickett is a California based screenwriter and author who is most well known for writing Sideways, the book that became a movie and one of the largest grossing comedy films in Hollywood. The book was eventually translated into 11 different languages and spawned Sideways remakes around the world. In addition, the screenplay for the film was named one of the top 100 screenplays of all time while the work was nominated for five Oscars (winning Best Screenplay) and swept the Golden Globe Awards for 2005. Pickett also wrote the script for another 2000 Oscar winning short film My Mother Dreams the Satan's Disciples in New York and has garnered numerous awards for his travel and magazine writing nationwide. Besides being an accomplished writer, Pickett is a low handicap golfer and a great and arduous fan of the sport, having written many golf reviews for national magazines as well. Pickett resides in Santa Monica, California and is currently working on a new pilot for HBO.