For Robert Pendleton, a professor clinging to tenure and living in the shambles of his once-bright literary career, death seems to be the only remaining option. But his suicide attempt fails, halted at the last moment by the intervention of Adi Wiltshire, a graduate student battling her own demons of failure and thwarted ambition. During Pendleton's long convalescence, Adi discovers a novel hidden in his basement: a brilliant, semi-autobiographical story with a gruesome child-murder at its core. The publication of Scream ...
Read More
For Robert Pendleton, a professor clinging to tenure and living in the shambles of his once-bright literary career, death seems to be the only remaining option. But his suicide attempt fails, halted at the last moment by the intervention of Adi Wiltshire, a graduate student battling her own demons of failure and thwarted ambition. During Pendleton's long convalescence, Adi discovers a novel hidden in his basement: a brilliant, semi-autobiographical story with a gruesome child-murder at its core. The publication of Scream causes a storm of publicity: a whirlwind into which Adi, Horowitz and the still-incapacitated Pendleton are thrust. The novel is treated as an existential masterpiece and looks set to bring its author the success he's always sought - when, ironically, he is no longer in a condition to appreciate it - until questions begin to be asked about its content: in particular about the uncanny resemblance between Pendleton's fictional crime and a real-life, unresolved local murder. Enter Jon Ryder, a world-weary detective who could have walked off the pages of a police thriller, and the hunt for the murderer is on.
Read Less
Add this copy of Death of a Writer: a Novel to cart. $1.45, good condition, Sold by BookHolders rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Gambrills, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.
Add this copy of Death of a Writer: a Novel to cart. $1.79, good condition, Sold by More Than Words rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Waltham, MA, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good. No Dust Jacket. All orders guaranteed and ship within 24 hours. Your purchase supports More Than Words, a nonprofit job training program for youth, empowering youth to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business.
Add this copy of Death of a Writer to cart. $2.55, very good condition, Sold by Merci Books rated 1.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hamilton, OH, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Bloomsbury Books.
Add this copy of Death of a Writer to cart. $2.93, like new condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.
Add this copy of Death of a Writer to cart. $2.93, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.
Add this copy of Death of a Writer to cart. $2.95, very good condition, Sold by Skywhys Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Glendale, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.
Add this copy of Death of a Writer: a Novel to cart. $2.98, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by Bloomsbury USA.
Add this copy of Death of a Writer to cart. $2.98, like new condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2021 by University of Iowa Press.
Add this copy of Death of a Writer: a Novel to cart. $2.98, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by Bloomsbury USA.
Add this copy of Death of a Writer: a Novel to cart. $3.00, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Movies rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by Bloomsbury USA.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
'Death of A Writer' starts out brilliantly -- the premise is so good that I told several people about it, talking up the book. That premise is this -- a professor at a small Midwestern college attempts to commit suicide, and the student who rescues him and anoints herself as his caretaker discovers a self-published novel that professor released 30 years prior to no acclaim. She helps get it re-issued, and it becomes a critical masterpiece -- and also reopens a 30-year old murder case that bears far too much resemblance the novel. The professor - now a hobbled, almost catatonic version of his former self, becomes the prime suspect.
OK, great premise - right? Except then it tries to become a few different things - the murder story (which includes more about the detective than I cared to learn about), a sarcastic look at academia, and an odd character analysis of his graduate student caretaker. The last part is particularly unwelcome and unnecessary, and it creates a detour that really detracts from the overall novel.
Collins is clearly a good writer, and there is a lot to say here - overall, it's a good novel but falls well short of its potential.
