In this blistering evisceration of celebrity culture and literary fame, a roguish loser sets out to write the best-sellingest best seller of all time. When he actually pulls it off, he winds up tearing like a tornado across America's cultural landscape. What Pete Tarslaw wants is simple enough: FAME - Realistic amount. Enough to open new avenues of sexual opportunity. Personal assistant to read mail, grocery shop, etcetera; FINANCIAL COMFORT - Never have a job again. Retire. Spend rest of life lying around, pursuing hobbies (Boating? Skeet shooting?); STATELY HOME BY THE OCEAN (OR SCENIC LAKE) - Spacious library, bay windows, wet bar. HD TV, discreetly placed. Comfortable couch; HUMILIATE EX-GIRLFRIEND AT HER WEDDING - This is the story of how he succeeds in getting it all, and what it costs him in the end. Narrated by an unlikely literary legend, "How I Became a Famous Novelist" pinballs from the postcollege slums of Boston to the fear-drenched halls of Manhattan's publishing houses, from the gloomy purity of Montana's foremost writing workshop to the hedonistic hotel bars of the Sunset Strip. This is the horrifying, hilarious tale of how Pete Tarslaw's "pile of garbage," called The Tornado Ashes Club, became the most talked about, blogged about, read, admired, and reviled novel in America. It will change everything you think you know about literature, appearance, truth, beauty, and those people who still care about books. It is the winner of the 2010 Thurber Prize for American Humor.
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About the Author
Steve Hely was a writer for The Late Show with David Letterman and the acclaimed animated comedy American Dad. He is also coauthor of the comic travelogue The Ridiculous Race.
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37 of 39 people found the following review helpful
By Richard Hine
Format:Paperback
For anyone who loves (to laugh at) books and the people who write them, HOW I BECAME A FAMOUS NOVELIST offers plenty to enjoy. In composing the fictional memoir of first-time novelist and literary scandal-monger Pete Tarslaw, comedy writer Steve Hely finds ways to gleefully skewer all forms of literary genre and pretension. His spoof New York Times Bestseller List is a classic in its own right and sets much of the tone for the whole book. Tarslaw's determination to impress his ex-girlfriend by establishing himself as a famous author in time for her upcoming wedding creates the main trajectory for the novel. The pace is brisk. The laughs come thick and fast. (If you enjoy books by Ben Elton or Mil Millington, then this is definitely one for you.) On occasion, Tarslaw's attitude and observations became too snide and snarky for my liking. But Hely has created a highly entertaining book--a fake memoir with a lot of sad truths about the current state of the book publishing industry.
How did I become a famous Amazon reviewer? Well, that hasn't happened yet. But maybe it will if 50,000 people answer Yes to the question that appears below.
How did I become a famous Amazon reviewer? Well, that hasn't happened yet. But maybe it will if 50,000 people answer Yes to the question that appears below.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Daisy Wang
Format:Paperback
It's a rare thing for a book billed as laugh-out-loud funny actually to be so, but 'How I became a famous novelist' really is. Be warned, though, that the laughter it provokes has the bitter taste of cynicism. Steve Hely sets out to expose the big con of best-seller fiction - that many of the books we buy by the thousand are truly bad, whilst far, far better books languish unread into the shadows of obscurity. To many of us, this isn't news; the Amazon reviews for any bestseller will offer a good sample of one-star reviews by bemused readers who can't see the appeal in a book they've been told to love - in other words, readers who see that the emperor has no clothes.
The format of the book is a memoir, liberally sprinkled with 'samples' from fake best-sellers. The irony is that, horrendous as these samples are, you wouldn't have to look far in any high-street bookshop to find comparable examples. The high-spot of this book is the spoof NYT best-seller list, and there's a lot of fun to be had in identifying the famous authors Hely lampoons. I've given four stars as I felt a loss of focus towards the end; even so, it's a sparkling, funny read with many home-truths within its pages. Is it too much to hope this book might inspire book-buyers to look beyond the best-seller lists for their reading choices?
The format of the book is a memoir, liberally sprinkled with 'samples' from fake best-sellers. The irony is that, horrendous as these samples are, you wouldn't have to look far in any high-street bookshop to find comparable examples. The high-spot of this book is the spoof NYT best-seller list, and there's a lot of fun to be had in identifying the famous authors Hely lampoons. I've given four stars as I felt a loss of focus towards the end; even so, it's a sparkling, funny read with many home-truths within its pages. Is it too much to hope this book might inspire book-buyers to look beyond the best-seller lists for their reading choices?
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By M. Beaumont
Format:Paperback
I don't think I've written a review on Amazon before, but I enjoyed this book so much, I thought I'd make the effort. I've read the phrase 'laugh out loud funny' on so many front covers of books that have barely made me smile. Steve Heley's How I Became a Famous Novelist, however, is quite simply brilliant. I can't recommend it enough.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
This guy can really write
This is a very funny and very clever book, written by a very funny man. It is a pacey and exciting read, full of crazy characters and extreme situations. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ryan Lister
5.0 out of 5 stars
So much fun to read!
Steve Hely tells this funny tale so well. I rarely laugh out loud when reading, but I did with this frequently.
Published 7 months ago by Sally
4.0 out of 5 stars
How I Became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely
A funny and surprisingly true look at the madness of the publishing world, this book had me laughing out loud.
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Published 10 months ago by Caro Gold
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Very Funny, Somewhat Cynical Book
This book touches on some unfortunate truths about modern day publishing (and modern culture in general) in a very funny, very engaging way.
Published 22 months ago by SheWhoLives
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very funny read
Steve Hely's fictional account of how Pete Tarslaw set out to become a famous novelist is a laugh out loud funny and cynical look at the publishing world. Read more
Published 23 months ago by BookBliss
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