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Reacher Said Nothing: Lee Child and the Making of Make Me Hardcover – 19 Nov. 2015

by Dr Andy Martin (Author)

4.1 225 ratings

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'I loved writing Make Me, and Andy Martin's Reacher Said Nothing gives you the how, why, when and where - warts and all.' - Lee Child

WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS
On September 1, 1994, Lee Child went out to buy the paper to start writing his first novel, in pencil. The result was Killing Floor, which introduced his hero Jack Reacher. Twenty years later, on September 1, 2014, he began writing Make Me, the twentieth novel in his number-one- bestselling Reacher series. Same day, same writer, same hero.

The difference, this time, was that he had someone looking over his shoulder. Andy Martin, uber Reacher fan, Cambridge academic, expert on existentialism, and dedicated surfer, sat behind Lee Child in his office and watched him as he wrote. While Lee was writing his Reacher book, Andy was writing about the making of Make Me.

Reacher Said Nothing is a book about a guy writing a book. An instant meta-book. It crosses genres, by bringing a high-level critical approach to a popular text, and gives a fascinating insight into the art of writing a thriller, showing the process in real time. It may well be the first of its kind.
[Spoiler alert: if you haven't read Make Me yet, this book contains spoilers]

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Print length

320 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Bantam Press
Publication date

19 Nov. 2015
Dimensions

16.2 x 3 x 24 cm
ISBN-10

059307663X
ISBN-13

978-0593076637
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Product description

Review

"Fascinating, literary criticism as never practised before, over the shoulder as the writer writes - properly compelling reading for anybody who likes Lee Child novels, which is to say anybody who enjoys thrillers, which is to say anybody who values being told a story....revelatory...[Child says] "I don't begin with the writer: I begin with the reader." He does - and that's why he is the most commanding brand in fiction now." (David Sexton Evening Standard)

"I found it very entertaining. Until Child can be persuaded to publish his own version of Stephen King's On Writing, I think it will be a wise investment for anybody who wants to write popular fiction." (Jake Kerridge Daily Telegraph)

"It is as if Jack Reacher wrote literary criticism instead of beating bad guys to death with his elbows...because of Child's eloquent fascination with his craft, this book happens to be a better manural of writing than any manual of writing. It's also a entertaining buddy-suspense movie." (Financial Times)

"It's fascinating to watch the process of writing unfolding in real time...it shouldn't work - after all writing is a predominantly mental activity - and yet it does in a way that makes you wonder why no one's thought of doing this before....Andy Martin has created something new here: a fusion of literary criticism, biography and fly-on-the-wall meta-novel which serves as a remarkable insight into the creative process." (Spectator)

"Love Jack Reacher? You'll have to enjoy this....revels in the minutiae you didn't realise you wanted to know." (Shortlist)

Book Description

A book about the writing of a book - watch Lee Child write one of his bestselling Jack Reacher thrillers.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bantam Press (19 Nov. 2015)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 059307663X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593076637
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16.2 x 3 x 24 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 716,633 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 19,373 in Poetry & Drama Criticism

Customer reviews:
4.1 225 ratings

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4.1 out of 5

225 global ratings

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A brilliant idea brilliantly executed.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 December 2015

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A literary breakthrough in recording the life of a writer. Martin takes you inside Child's mind with all the acuity of a psychiatrist. He sits on his shoulder - or rather, back on the couch, Boswell to his companion's Johnson - and watches the genesis of Child's 20th novel with a wry smile, and not a little bewilderment. It is a risky exercise, but Martin pulls it off brilliantly as he prods away, extracting from the author the nuts and bolt of his method. Child is amazingly open, admitting he knows not a thing about the plot until he starts writing - and always on the same day every year. He has turned himself into a hugely successful writing machine; whether or not you are fan of the Jack Reacher saga, Martin's book reveals more about Child than any number of interviews have done in his rise to major celebrity, from his Midlands roots to New York City. Child would love to be Reacher; I'm not sure Martin would love to be Child - but the result of this complicated chemistry is a unique and thoroughly enjoyable experiment.

6 people found this helpful

I enjoyed reading this a chapter at a time

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 March 2017

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I enjoyed reading this a chapter at a time. It doesn't flow like a novel, and in places it goes a bit surreal (in my opinion!) as the author is an academic. However it did do what it said it would and offered insight into the creative process of Lee Child writing a Jack Reacher novel - which was interesting to read. However, if you haven't read many Jack Reacher novels and you haven't read Make Me, then you won't get as much out of this and may not persevere to the end. But over all, I liked it.

3 people found this helpful

Mrs Karin Salvalaggio

A book about writing that reads like a thriller

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 September 2016

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REACHER SAID NOTHING is a most gratifying read that will appeal to both fans of Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels and fellow writers, successful and aspiring. Interestingly, the author Dr Andy Martin has produced a book about writing that reads like a thriller, a very cool trick given the actual business of sitting down to write a novel isn't the most exciting of pastimes. Fans are given unprecedented access to their favourite author as he gets down to the tricky business of writing his 20th novel 'Make Me' - cigarettes and cups of coffee are counted; meals documented (turns out Lee Child grazes on Sugar Smacks when the going gets tough); and insights into Lee Child's relationship with his wise cracking fictional hero Jack Reacher are revealed. Fellow authors will come away feeling both inspired and impressed. Lee Child is a hugely successful author who could take the easy way out, but it turns out he's still slogging away alone in front of a computer just like the rest of us. Highly recommend!

2 people found this helpful

MR DAVID MUNSTER

Interesting but hard work

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 January 2024

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This book contains a fascinating insight into the way Lee Child wrote the Reacher novels. However Martin is an academic and has used hundreds of obscure words the average reader will not have heard before. He also makes endless references to other literature. This book comes accross as self indulgent which is in contrast to Child who is seeing his work from his readers perspective as he writes.

This Reader Said "Great!"

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 May 2018

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As an author who has (so far) managed but a very small fraction of the sales figures Lee Child regularly achieves, I found this book fascinating. Partly because I love the Jack Reacher books, and partly because I now know that Lee Child is not a,'plotter' (which all the creative writing courses seem to insist any one who wishes to be a serious/successful should be) but a 'pantser', like me. That Child can start out with an idea and end up with 22 bestsellers without drawing a single flow-chart is wonderfully encouraging.

Thank you, Andy Martin and Lee Child, for a most enlightening -and entertaining - read.

One person found this helpful

Lee Child's book, Martin a bit pretentious.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 March 2016

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I gave this 4 stars, 5 for Lee Child and 3 for Andy Martin. I was often irritated by Martin's pretentious analysis of Child's books. I really liked Lee Child. He gave life and character to the book. From his chain smoking to his offbeat but realistic outlook. I think he's a good writer trapped with his (wonderful) character. I'd like to see him try something different - a stand-alone novel, as he can't take Reacher much further, even if he wanted to. A well-deserved retirement is due, although I doubt he'd know what to do. More power to him, whatever he does.

2 people found this helpful

Amusing, insightful and reassuring

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 April 2016

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I loved this book. I read it while simultaneously grappling with my own manuscript and it was a kind of therapy. Not that I'm comparing myself to billion times bestseller Lee Child, but seeing how he procrastinated at times and stressed about the other obligations keeping him from his work in progress, well, it helped. I found it amusing, insightful and reassuring. I don't think you need to be wrestling with your own writing to read this, I don't even think you need to have read many/any Reachers, it stands alone. Thoroughly recommended.

10 people found this helpful

A Valuable Resource for Any Writer (and super-fan of Reacher!)

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 April 2017

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This book is a hugely valuable book for writers (and aspiring writers) to show that real humans can and do become successful.

Lee Child is a human!

Super insights into a hugely successful writer and how real it is. He has all the foibles that we have! He just worked around then, learned as he went and, well, the rest its history!

A really super book that lives and breathes the writing of 'Make Me'.

2 people found this helpful

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TLAG

Great Book - Perfect for the Reacher audience

Reviewed in the United States on 23 July 2018

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The first thing about buying a book like this is to know exactly why and what you are buying it for. This is a book first and foremost for those who are interested in Jack Reacher, Lee Child, and/or how Lee Child writes or approaches fiction and the job/experiences of being a famous novelist. It is not a book on Writing. It is not even a book on Writing like Lee Child or even Writing Reacher. It's not really about Reacher, per se. But, it touches on all of those things and I enjoyed every single page and every single word. You see I am interested in all of those things and it didn't bother me one iota that is wasn't any of those things specifically or completely.

This is a biography of a specific novel: "Make Me" and how/what was happening when it was written. And contrary to some reviews, that process IS laid bare here. It is not a biography of Lee Child, but I think you get a pretty complete picture of who he is (or at least who he becomes when he sits down at a typewriter and becomes Lee Child writing a Reacher Novel). I felt at the end of it that I understood what Lee Child (and alternately the author Andy Martin) went through in the 220 or so days that passed from the first sentence to the last one.

This was an interesting idea and it something that I found fascinating and hard to put down. I have read all the Reacher books and this, in its own way, is a Reacher book, too. As Martin skillfully points out: Reacher is alive. He exists. Child is channeling him in a way like a reporter so we can live in his world. It reads at times like a buddy story and Martin is a fanboy, but so what. I enjoyed that, too. Jim Grant is both Lee Child AND Jack Reacher. Buy this book if you are needing a Reacher fix, or want to know more about how Jim Grant became Lee Child. Buy it if you want to understand how Child conceives of plots and stories (or rather doesn't) and how he is able to write a new Reacher novel every year. This book surpassed everything I anticipated and it was a great read. If you are expecting a Writers Workshop, get Stephen King's On Writing. This isn't that at all.

2 people found this helpful

Icarus

Great behind the scenes look at Reacher

Reviewed in Canada on 2 January 2017

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Great behind the scenes look at Reacher. Andy Martin sneaks in so much more about writers and writing. A must read for all Jack fans.

drl

Enthüllungsjournalismus auf angenehmste Weise

Reviewed in Germany on 10 October 2016

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Man kann mich zu der Kategorie Reacher-fans zählen, die sich das Buch kaufen, sobald es (als handliches Taschenbuch - ich lese gerne im Liegen) erscheint und es sich dann mitunter bis zu einem halben Jahr "von den Augen absparen", um sich dann damit zu belohnen. Jeder "Reacher" war für mich höchster Lesegenuß und ich habe mich auch schon gefragt, wie der Autor seine zum Teil hochkomplexen Geschichten konstruiert. Im vorliegenden Metabuch von Andy Martin erfährt man nicht nur, wie die Geschichten entstehen (wurde völlig überrascht!) und viel Hintergrund zur ganzen Serie, sondern auch interessante Details über Lee Child. Besonders aufschlußreich fand ich die Ausführungen zur sprachliche Finesse der Reacher-Bände, die man bei der rein inhaltsorientierten Lektüre leicht überliest. Die Seitenhiebe auf Baldacci fand ich mehr als berechtigt (dessen erste Bücher fand ich noch interessant - dann wurde es reine Masche, was ich bei Child nie empfand). Auch die Problematik der schauspielerischen Fehlbesetzung der Verfilmungen mit Tom Cruise wird thematisiert. In einzelnen Kapiteln fordert der Autor, vermutlich aufgrund seines akademischen Hintergrundes, die Sprachkenntnisse eines Nicht-Muttersprachlers heraus, aber das erhöht vielleicht sogar den Reiz. Es ist übrigens ein Buch geworden, dass in meinen Augen auch für sich genommen unterhaltsame und bisweilgen tiefgründige Lektüre bedeutet, von der ungewöhnlichen Idee, die Entstehung eines Buches quasi live zu verfolgen, mal ganz abgesehen. In der Widmung entschuldigt sich der Autor bei allen, die das Buch versehentlich gekauft haben und stattdessen einen Reacher erwartet haben. Ich glaube, dass echte Reacher-fans auch dann nicht enttäuscht wären. Fazit: Im Anschluß habe ich "Make me" gleich nochmal gelesen, obwohl ich normalerweise zwei, drei Jahre warte, ehe ich mir mit einem bereits gelesenen "Reacher" wieder einen ganz besonderen Lesegenuss gönne... :-)

5 people found this helpful

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Bobby B

I was very disappointed as I have read all the Jack Reacher books ...

Reviewed in Australia on 2 January 2016

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Could not get into this mode of writing. I am only half way through and put it down. I was very disappointed as I have read all the Jack Reacher books and loved them and every thing else by Lee Child I have read. Please write the next book in the can't put down style of your other books and wanting more.

Alexander M. Pearson

Interesting, if at times laborious read

Reviewed in Germany on 27 November 2022

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I enjoyed the parts where Martin details the mechanics of Child's writing and thinking processes when he sits down to type up 'Make Me.' I didn't enjoy his many digressions, high culture references (he really loves Proust and Beethoven), and tendency to drop in bits of Spanish, French, or German. If these aspects had added value of some sort, I'd not be so critical. But in this case, they distracted me from the main subject: How Child writes (and thinks about writing) a book.

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