I am in no way writing to defend a book I have not read, and that may very well be well-meaning dreck. But I will defend the writer for stepping out of her dark and dysfunctional imaginary world and into something that reeks of hope. It's great for a reader to enter the depths of suburban dysfunctionality, or irony, or disaster for a day or a week or however long he/she takes to read the book. But the writer has to live there daily while writing, possibly for years. And perhaps after a few such sojourns into the dark and disturbing just needs a break, a happy ending, some light at the end of the tunnel so to speak.

...that someone actually bought this book because it got a rave review from that literary master Stephen King?? The author who pissed all over his readership and his one shot at genuine literary immortality by making a hash out of his Dark Tower series??

Lay down with dogs and yer gonna get fleas, y'all.

or it may not. For me, that is. I haven't read it yet, so I'm not going on anyone else's word and saving myself Twenty bucks. I write. I may also suck, at least at times. But forewarned is, well, forewarned, at least. I won't blame you, Heather, if I feel the book sucked after I'm done reading it. I can't know that til I've done it. But I have read the excerpt, posted here under separate cover, and that - if only that alone - was worth one helluva lot more than the twenty bucks I'm about to blow. I have too much in common with the Novak character - way too much, maybe

(except for his economic status) to take a pass on this one. Thanks for the challenge. :)

MICHIKO KAKUTANI says:

***

A. M. Homes's dreadful new novel, "This Book Will Save Your Life," reads like a cartoon illustration for a seminar on men and middle age — a pastiche of all that is hokey, hackneyed and New Agey in Robert Bly's "Iron John" and Gail Sheehy's "Understanding Men's Passages."

***

And Michi concludes:

In a blurb on the back of this book, Stephen King writes that "this brave story of a lost man's reconnection with the world could become a generational touchstone, like 'Catch-22,' 'The Monkey Wrench Gang,' or 'The Catcher in the Rye.' " To this reader, the apt comparison is not to a modern literary classic but to a television show starring Montel Williams or Dr. Phil.

Check it out at

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/14/books/14book.html

You're welcome!

Contrast the synopsis of this work with The Weather Man. The main character is also wealthy and is trying to turn his life around in a short amount of time -- he wants to be redeemed in his father's eyes before the father dies of terminal illness in a matter of months.

But a lot of what the character attempts fails. He made most situations worse than had he not acted at all. He learns the hard way that getting even more money will not be a panacea to all his woes. But he does take solace in the smaller victories he does achieve. And he eventually accepts that some of those he so desparately tried to reconnect with have rightfully moved on.

The overall film was so-so, but has more of an air of authenticity about it than this book, in both probable outcome and emotional honesty.

... it's pretty tough to beat Richard Yates' brilliant, and now sadly under-appreciated, novel "Revolutionary Road", since we're on the subject.

I'm not familiar with Homes' work, past or present, but quite apart from H.H.'s rather damning review of her latest work, it was actually the following, written by "tadpaul," that spoke most strongly against devoting a few hours of my life to anything she's written:

"Like Paul Auster, is A.M. Homes slowly and obliviously forgetting what made her a good writer to begin with?"

Yikes! If a comparison with Paul Auster is the nicest thing a defender can think of to say about an author, then it's safe to say we're in real trouble.

I bought this book on the day it was released based on Stephen King's rave review in Entertainment Weekly. Instead of a book that could save my life, I received one that left me feeling like I'd mainlined a dozen Pixie Sticks. I couldn't agree more with Heather - the book was full of cardboard characters and contrived situations. It's not funny, and it's not profound. The dialogue is flat. It feautured a scene involving a movie star and a helicopter that could be used as a textbook example of a deux ex machina. I have the highest respect for authors and the difficulty of their craft, but I can't find anything to recommend about this book. If you want to read something better in same existential dread genre, try one of Walker Percy's novels - I like "The Second Coming."

In my comments about A.M. Homes to friends I always suggest her short stories are more interesting and better written than her novels. This confirms my opinion.

Heather, I intend to read this book.

So happy I don't need to "watch".

Thanks,

AM Homes is not writing a novel this time. She has created a prologue to a new TV series for boomer-understanding. With so much of the tube filled with cream, she has apparently decided to become a TV writer, and possible producer, of same.

Of course the movies would have none of this because... for one thing - they are all animated cartoons now - characters shallow, stereo-wiped and funny-lol or else! It is refreshing to watch the actual demise of a pretty good novelist in the context of a sunny-day-script as she goes tripping through virtual niceness in the guise of an older guy who happens to be rich.

This is a horror show, to be watched and slotted for: The WB, immediately following any show that features childish relationships or rich people's lifestyle proclivities.

This is "The Swimmer"... in pre-cable reruns, a veritable return to Yesterday, when there were no conflicts greater than greatness, the lack thereof, or novel liberties, internet spam-cum-great-deals be damned.

We live in a world of one-liners, and a short, sweet novel is tastier than a hard-to-stomach invention of twisted lies and complex self-gratifying innuendo.

Hail the Homes! She has brought good taste to the illiterati, and in so doing, has also measured us for the self-hate we regurgitate in our national detestability. That's a lot of action in one short novel for anyone to achieve.