bookshelf

THE BIG HYPE

Name: THE BIG HYPE
Author: Avery Corman
ISBN: 0-671-69297-6

by Avery Corman ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 1992

bookshelf

Entertaining but far from caustic satire on celebrityhood that finds Corman (Prized Possessions, 1991, etc.) having fun with publishing and show biz. It's hard to knock a novel that never takes itself seriously but remains absolutely readable from first to last—though Corman fails to rise above the even level of charm he handles so deftly throughout. Paul Brock, a middle-aging scriptwriter tired of television (though he's won four Emmys), finishes his first novel. His agent auctions the ms., but it achieves only a midlist advance, not enough to keep Paul's family in shoes and dentistry while he writes a second novel. His best friend, Mel Steiner, a towering moneymaker in the music biz, takes on the book himself, becomes a publisher, and gives Paul the big hype, starting with a $100,000 advance. Astounded, Paul finds that Mel wants to make him over into a concert star and have Paul a household name before bringing out the novel. Paul writes the lyrics for 20 songs that stand up for the middle class against the yuppies; a fancy orchestrator helps with the tunes; Mel opens a media blitz; and Paul debuts at Radio City Music Hall to a standing ovation (paid for by Mel). The novel rides the stairway to hype-heaven in a step-by-step way that has an aura of authenticity to its satire, though the reader's light heart is taken for granted. It's Corman's happy inspiration to load the story with real celebrities—Mario Puzo, John Updike, Bette Midler, Paul Simon, John le CarrÇ, Dr. Ruth, and many, many others—who speak glowingly of Paul's talent at every turn. Corman is less inspired at giving these folks sharp edges or handling them with satisfying wit. The main flaw here is that very little stands in the way of Mel's dream-roller hype, and whatever friction does arise offers little heat. A publishing phenomenon? Who knows. But hype will help.

Pub Date: July 1, 1992

ISBN: 0-671-69297-6

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1992

Categories:

GENERAL FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
MY OLD NEIGHBORHOOD REMEMBERED
by Avery Corman

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BOYFRIEND FROM HELL
by Avery Corman

- BOOK REVIEW
A PERFECT DIVORCE
by Avery Corman

bookshelf

BETWEEN SISTERS

by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2003

Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles...

bookshelf

Sisters in and out of love.

Meghann Dontess is a high-powered matrimonial lawyer in Seattle who prefers sex with strangers to emotional intimacy: a strategy bound to backfire sooner or later, warns her tough-talking shrink. It’s advice Meghann decides to ignore, along with the memories of her difficult childhood, neglectful mother, and younger sister. Though she managed to reunite Claire with Sam Cavenaugh (her father but not Meghann’s) when her mother abandoned both girls long ago, Meghann still feels guilty that her sister’s life doesn’t measure up, at least on her terms. Never married, Claire ekes out a living running a country campground with her dad and is raising her six-year-old daughter on her own. When she falls in love for the first time with an up-and-coming country musician, Meghann is appalled: Bobby Austin is a three-time loser at marriage—how on earth can Claire be so blind? Bobby’s blunt explanation doesn’t exactly satisfy the concerned big sister, who busies herself planning Claire’s dream wedding anyway. And, to relieve the stress, she beds various guys she picks up in bars, including Dr. Joe Wyatt, a neurosurgeon turned homeless drifter after the demise of his beloved wife Diane (whom he euthanized). When Claire’s awful headache turns out to be a kind of brain tumor known among neurologists as a “terminator,” Joe rallies. Turns out that Claire had befriended his wife on her deathbed, and now in turn he must try to save her. Is it too late? Will Meghann find true love at last?

Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles (Distant Shores, 2002, etc.). Kudos for skipping the snifflefest this time around.

Pub Date: May 1, 2003

ISBN: 0-345-45073-6

Page Count: 400

Publisher: Ballantine

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2003

Categories:

GENERAL FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WOMEN
by Kristin Hannah

- BOOK REVIEW
THE FOUR WINDS
by Kristin Hannah

- BOOK REVIEW
THE GREAT ALONE
by Kristin Hannah

bookshelf

THE ALCHEMIST

by Paulo Coelho & translated by Margaret Jull Costa ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 1993

Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.

bookshelf

Coelho is a Brazilian writer with four books to his credit. Following Diary of a Magus (1992—not reviewed) came this book, published in Brazil in 1988: it's an interdenominational, transcendental, inspirational fable—in other words, a bag of wind.

The story is about a youth empowered to follow his dream. Santiago is an Andalusian shepherd boy who learns through a dream of a treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. An old man, the king of Salem, the first of various spiritual guides, tells the boy that he has discovered his destiny: "to realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation." So Santiago sells his sheep, sails to Tangier, is tricked out of his money, regains it through hard work, crosses the desert with a caravan, stops at an oasis long enough to fall in love, escapes from warring tribesmen by performing a miracle, reaches the pyramids, and eventually gets both the gold and the girl. Along the way he meets an Englishman who describes the Soul of the World; the desert woman Fatima, who teaches him the Language of the World; and an alchemist who says, "Listen to your heart" A message clings like ivy to every encounter; everyone, but everyone, has to put in their two cents' worth, from the crystal merchant to the camel driver ("concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man"). The absence of characterization and overall blandness suggest authorship by a committee of self-improvement pundits—a far cry from Saint- Exupery's The Little Prince: that flagship of the genre was a genuine charmer because it clearly derived from a quirky, individual sensibility.

Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.