The Last Days of Publishing: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: An Interesting Book
Review: Although the main character isn't very likable, I enjoyed the inside view of a changing industry. As an author myself, of NEW PSALMS FOR NEW MOMS: A KEEPSAKE JOURNAL (Judson Press), I have some firsthand knowledge of publishing and just how difficult it is for a new voice to be heard. My worst fears of how capriciously some publishing decisions are made were confirmed! But there will always be those of us who have things we must say, and the readers who appreciate hearing them.

Rating:
Summary: Last Days of What??
Review: Besides being a bit short for a novel, The Last Days of Publishing seems to be missing so many things that could have made for an interesting and readable novel. I have to agree with one of the other reviews, few of the characters are well developed and they seem to come and go, often with minimal explanation. The plot is also weak and presented in out of chronological order, which makes for anticlimactic reading. Much of the information about publishing could easily be gleaned in various magazines and better written books, such as Betsy Lerner's "The Forest for the Trees" as well as the nostalgia for the 60's, like many of Tim O'Brien's novels, especially "July, July" (which isn't even his best novel). Aside from a clever cover, I can't recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: the best little novel to come around in a good long while...
Review: Is it a commentary on post-sixties America or some tough love for the publishing biz? Or a bit of both? Lets call it a page-turner with a soul and maybe the best little novel to come around in a good long while.

Rating:
Summary: the best little novel to come around in a good long while...
Review: Is it a commentary on post-sixties America or some tough love for the publishing biz? Or a bit of both? Lets call it a page-turner with a soul and maybe the best little novel to come around in a good long while.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely brilliant!
Review: It isn't often that you find a novel as intelligent, original and humorous as it is powerfully poignant. Somehow, though, Engelhardt has written just such a book. The Last Days of Publishing is a crisp and compelling read. In fact, don't be surprised if the story of Rick Koppes, Engelhardt's tragic-hero narrator (and, perhaps the last man of integrity in the increasingly soulless world of publishing) captivates you to the point of reading the novel in one sitting. Yes, it is simply that good.

Rating:
Summary: disappointing
Review: The publishing industry confounds us: through mysterious, unseen, processes it populates our bookstore shelves with works ranging from the profound to the utterly inane. It draws to itself the most idealistic and the crassest among us. And it is a world under pressure--it has always been a financially risky business. Word is that Gutenberg died bankrupt and penniless. Changing technologies and the general coporate move to conglomeration have added other uncertainties. Certainly this is a world ripe with novelistic possibilities.

And yet...The Last Days of Publishing skims lightly over these many tantalizing issues, leaving us instead with a thin gruel of solipsistic nostalgia. The characters are so vague, so unfleshed and unsympathetic, that the reader can only wonder where that nostalgia comes from. They seem to have landed in publishing for lack of any imagination. The plot moves from being choppy and confusing in the early vignettes to increasingly improbable, all with affected air of self-important inevitability. In the end we're left with a book that fails as a novel and as a source of reflection of the vagaries and important cultural and economic issues to be found in the world of publishing. Alas! Read something else!

Rating:
Summary: THE novel about publishing
Review: What's been happening in book publishing these last 20 or 30 years is most discouraging. As an antidote, I recommend Tom Engelhardt's vivid, lively novel, which helps us see those depressing developments from the inside. He does it, though, with humor and flair--no preachiness here. Reading it, you'll encounter a fascinating gallery of New York City character types. The scene at the Museum of Natural History is unforgettable in its look at cultural-sexual office politics. The whole book is sardonic fun, and a fast, compelling read. I read the entire thing on a Transatlantic flight.