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Bestseller Paperback – September 1, 2012

by Alessandro Gallenzi (Author)

3.7 18 ratings

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Jim Talbot, a writer with a dozen unpublished novels under his belt, has been roundly rejected by virtually every agent and publisher in the land, and is willing to go to extreme lengths to make his dream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, thisis a caustic portrait of contemporary culture and of the literary world's obsession with fame, success, and becoming the next J. K. Rowling.

Print length

288 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Alma Books
Publication date

September 1, 2012
Dimensions

5.05 x 0.92 x 7.81 inches
ISBN-10

1846881285
ISBN-13

978-1846881282
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Gallenzi . . . slips in sound insider's judgements on how this business works. Read it for the lowdown on the low trade." —Independent

"A cutting satire on the publishing world." —Times

"Light yet serious, funny and painful, somewhat fantastic yet shot through with truth." —Scotsman

"Entertaining." —Publishers Weekly

"[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.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Alma Books; Reprint edition (September 1, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1846881285
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1846881282
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.05 x 0.92 x 7.81 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #6,473,348 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,846 in British & Irish Humor & Satire
- #31,826 in Fiction Satire
- #214,196 in Literary Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
3.7 18 ratings

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3.7 out of 5

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Adieu Chimeras

The narrative is poor and naive

Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2014

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The plot is weak. The author doesn't handle well the end of the story. Some times talks too much for no particular reason. The narrative is poor and naive, specially when the author treats the business meetings; it appears he has no idea about the subject. The story is interesting (specially for writers, like me, who are suffering to publish), for the amount of anecdotes around the publishing business. I don't think this book will be a best seller.

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Top reviews from other countries

Londonist

Darkly comic, very caustic, rather grotesque

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 21, 2010

Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )

I imagine that this darkly comic and sardonic tale might be enjoyed by anyone working in the publishing industry. I don't, and I found it very hard to engage with. The characters are rather heartless, the dialogue is somewhat bilious, the writing is decidedly grotesque. The novel is set in London and London placenames appear on almost every page, but as a Londoner, I did not recognise the city in these pages. I did not even recognise my fellow human beings. There is a great deal of grimacing and clever manoevering, very little atmosphere, and not much in the way of humanity. A streak of misanthropy, a mile wide. Not recommended.

Kate Hopkins

A Darkly Comic Perspective on Publishing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 4, 2021

Verified Purchase

Poet, novelist, translator and publisher Alessandro Gallenzi casts a sardonic eye over the world of publishing in this darkly comic novel. The main characters are Jim Talbot, a thirty-something graduate from a creative writing degree determined to get published whatever the cost; and Charles Randall, an independent publisher determined to save his Tetragon Press (which specializes in quality British literary fiction and fiction in translation) from being taken over by a bigger firm. Jim and Charles's stories never converge, but run parallel, as Jim comes up with an outrageous scheme to get revenge on the publishing world that has rejected him, and Charles realizes that - perhaps - he may snatch victory from the jaws of defeat through the discovery of a manuscript...

I have immense admiration for Gallenzi's work as a publisher (he is the co-director of the marvellous Alma Books) and was thus very curious to see what this novel is like. There is much to admire and like in it. Charles, who has some of the same passions as the real-life Christopher McLehose but without his commercial success, is a fine and sympathetic creation, and I found his almost Shakespearean speech (vague shades of 'Coriolanus'!?) at the end very moving. Gallenzi writes scathingly and very amusingly about the increasingly corporate viewpoint in publishing as a whole: the scene where the new employees of Tetragon try to work out a commercially successful spring list had me weeping with laughter, and the book awards ceremony is brilliantly observed. I enjoyed very much the story of the two sisters who become surprise successes with a novel entitled 'I Want to Be Lily Allen' written at top speed, and the description of the fall-out from Tetragon's decision (post-Charles) to publish what is supposedly Osama Bin-Laden's secret diaries. And though Gallenzi has much to say about the darker sides of publishing and the dangers of commercialism, this isn't a bleak or bitter book: characters like Charles and his redoubtable assistant Pippa remind us that good people still exist, and that where there's life there's hope.

For me personally, the scenes dealing with Jim Talbot were not as enjoyable as those dealing with Charles and Tetragon. I wasn't entirely sure whether we were meant to feel sympathy for Jim, or whether we were meant to feel he actually had any talent as a writer (the passage quoted implied not, but I'm not sure if that was meant to be typical of his style). I personally loathed a lot about him, particularly his lack of empathy and his appalling treatment of his mother, but may have been taking the character too seriously. Gallenzi does use the character to make some shrewd observations about how people obsessed with an unrealistic goal (in this case writing a bestseller) can do terrible damage to themselves and others - something that happens a lot in the performing arts world too - but I never felt humanly engaged with him as I did with Charles. But maybe I wasn't meant to.

Overall, this is a deliciously crisp, witty and dark satire, beautifully written, which has made me interested in reading the author's other two novels published in English. Long live independent publishers!

I. Bullen

Writer Writes About Writing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 30, 2010

Like comedy shows about making comedy shows, writing about the perils of writing for a living are fraught with dangers, not least of which is that of alienating anyone living outside that particular bubble.

Certainly, the first half of Bestseller treads close to that line, immersing us in the failing world of unpublished author, Jim and run-down publisher Charles. Both characters have major failings, failings which prevent any sympathy or empathy with them. Gallenzi writes well, and this skill ensured that I didn't stop reading when, in particular, Jim's increasingly deranged behaviour drifts towards the annoying. Indeed this behaviour, aiming towards the desperate lengths people will go to in order to achieve writing fame, instead inadvertently suggests a serious mental health problem (and what would possibly have been a more interesting novel).

As the plot comes together though, the pace picks up and the re-emergence of Charles in the publishing world lends an element of optimism that the opening of the book lacks and gives the reader something to attach themselves to.

All told, Bestseller is well-crafted, just a little too centred within the publishing bubble it seeks to prick. Interesting, but ultimately a little flat as a tale.

russell clarke

"I've had enough of it .And i don't think i belong here anymore ".

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 3, 2010

Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )

I don't often read contemporary fiction and after trawling through Bestseller I again realised why. Sucked in by the promise of this being a "Caustic portrait of contemporary culture " within the first fifty pages it became clear that this was a novel that rather than eviscerating the publishing world in which it is set is actually paying it a perverse kind of fond tribute . As satire it is weak and ineffectual and as an overall reading experience it is as dull as a concrete mirror.
The plot ,such as it is, revolves around Tim who wants to get a novel published so badly he spends virtually every waking minute devoted to achieving it and Charles who used to run a small publishing company but was booted out when the big boys moved in .The author is very immersed in the publishing world having been the founder of numerous publishing companies as well as being a poet , playwright and now a novelist ( phew !) but it seems he is far more enamoured with this world than any casual reader is likely to be but his failure to engage this reader in the rather trite tribulations of his characters means they could end up not caring less what happens to them. That was certainly the case for this reader By caring too deeply about his characters, especially Tim , who i feel is the one character the author closely identifies with , he has elevated his inability to get his work published to the level of a Shakespearean tragedy which clearly in the grand scheme of things it isn't. In short Bestseller takes itself far too seriously.
Though the narrative zings along nicely and it is well written judged as straight up drama Bestseller is pretty mundane , as satire it is utterly toothless . The title , i predict, will not be a self fulfilling prophecy.

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Mrs. J. Jones

Now I know where I've gone wrong!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2010

Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )

A great, if uncomfortable read, especially for those of us sending off submissions on a regular basis without any success! The publishing industry is laid bare - all its intrigues and money-grabbing schemes. Charles Randall is the loveable, old fashioned publisher, owner of a small press, appallingly treated by the the hot shots who have taken over his firm and booted him out. Jim Talbot stands for us all - desperate to get into print and willing to exploit even his sick mother to achieve it. Well, perhaps not the exploiting the sick mother bit, but we'd all like to get into print wouldn't we?

The action is well paced and the characters are fabulous, you can really see the people in this book. Vengence is served - hot and cold, and the ending is a dream! I look forward to reading more of Alessandro Gallenzi, witty, pithy and sharp - a real page turner.

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