Rating: 
Summary: And for Dessert...
Review: "About the Author", simply put, is literary junk food. There's nothing of substance, the writing is only adequate, but the story is wildly entertaining.The story is about Cal Cunningham, wanna-be novelist, who discovers after his roommate Stewart's untimely death that Stewart is a brilliant writer who has written a book about Cal's womanizing in New York City. Cal claims the book as his own and sends it off to his agent. He soon ascends to literary stardom, finds the woman of his dreams (Stewart's old flame), and is living Happily Ever After, but...someone else has the manuscript and blackmails Cal into giving him money. The plot thickens (or becomes more convoluted) until the epic conclusion. This book is deeply flawed. The plot moves along at a manic pace, glossing over a lot of events. Everything seems to get blown out to ridiculous proportions, so that it's more of a parody than real life. I suppose that's the author's intention. I disbelieve most of the narrator's views about writing and the author's take on the literary world. Maybe I'm not plugged in enough to what's going on, but I don't know of many 21-25 superstar novelists. The author makes it sound like there's a new one every week. He also has an irritating habit of creating adjectives like "Havishamian" or "Byronesque". If I hadn't read Great Expectation by Dickens, I wouldn't know what "Havishamian" meant, it would have no meaning to me. In my opinion, that kind of writing is just a sloppy shortcut, a lazy habit. Maybe that's just me. As sort of an aside, one thing I noticed is that while Stewart's writing is so brilliant, the reader doesn't ever really see it first-hand. We hear how wonderful it is from Cal, but never get to read it ourselves. Therefore, do we really know that it's so great? It's sort of like a couple favorite writing-related movies of mine ("Finding Forrester" and "Wonder Boys") where we see & hear only a sentence or two of the young protege's brilliant opus. My personal theory is that the writers of those movies and the author of this book didn't really have the confidence to produce such great writing, so in the case of "About the Author", readers are left with a sloppy second-hand description instead of an illuminating excerpt. OK, an excerpt wasn't necessary for the story, but think how much support it builds in the reader's mind for Cal's jealousy and everyone's subsequent adoration of him. But again, that might just be me. Despite being deeply flawed, "About the Author" is very entertaining. It is--to use the cliche--a page-turner. Like I said, it's literary junk food; it won't make you think. So if you want to indulge your sweet tooth, go ahead and give this book a read.
Rating: 
Summary: "PAGE-TURNER OF THE YEAR" FOR ME
Review: When I heard about this book, I assumed it was another non-fiction book by Colapinto. The title alone is suggestive of a non-fiction work. Well, it certainly isn't in that genre. It's a psychological thriller of the very best kind...not a dark thriller but more of a light one. It's like a roller coaster ride -- a trip to hell and back. Colapinto has managed to take all of my favorite book elements and combine them in one story. I couldn't put it down trying to figure out just what would happen next. The premise is great. Cal Cunningham is a struggling writer who has hopes of one day penning a great novel. It's no surprise that he hasn't been successful since, for the past two years, he hasn't written a thing...not one page. He thinks about it all the time, and imagines himself as a best-selling author, but hasn't been motivated yet to put that pen to page. He spends his days at his job stacking books in a local bookstore. At nights, he spends his time carousing with loose women in tawdry bars. He shares a cramped NYC apartment with his roommate Stewart Church, a law school student. Stewart is such a bore and spends most of his time typing away on his laptop in the seclusion of his bedroom. When he comes up for air on the weekends, Cal regales him with stories of his ventures into the wild nightlife of New York. Stewart hangs on every word...and that's all I'm going to tell you. What happens next is unbelievable. One little event, one little decision made, one little lapse in judgment will put Cal on the ride of his life. Unfortunately, he might not be able to jump off when he wants to. This is the story of how Cal Cunningham becomes a best-selling author. It's by far the page-turner of the year for me reminiscent of other favorite page-turners like Scott Smith's A Simple Plan and Douglas Kennedy's The Big Picture. I can't say enough about this book other than "READ IT." I found out something "about the author" John Colapinto - not only is he terrific but he's also found a new fan in this reader.
Rating: 
Summary: Well isn't that funny?
Review: Being a writer myself, I can connect with Cal's struggle. Although I don't handle my writer's block in the *cough* erotic *cough* ways that he does, I really enjoyed his commentary on life in New York. I loved Stewart Church, the law school student/writer, who mistakenly shows Cal his writing. After Stewart is killed in a bike accident, Cal begins living Stewarts "should-have-been" life. He marries his old girlfriend, publishes his book and makes all his money. These strange coincidences in no way whatsoever make the book "dumb" and "unrealistic." This is a great novel and extremely fun and easy to read.
Rating:
Summary: Plot twists in wicked tale from new voice in fiction!
Review: Stylishly written, "About the Author" is a cracking debut novel from fresh new voice in fiction, John Colapinto, packed with suspenseful moments and wicked plot twists. The premise is compelling: a struggling, frustrated writer, Cal Cunningham, suffering from chronic writer's block, harbours dreams of writing a novel that will bring widespread critical acclaim - and free him from his mundane existence stacking books in a bookstore. Sharing his cheap Manhattan apartment is his less than outgoing roommate, law student Stewart (forever clacking away on his old Underwood following the theft of his laptop) who devours Cal's anecdotes about his latest sexual adventures. Secretly raking through Stewart's files, Cal finds a superb manuscript of a novel, "Almost like Suicide", that he is horrified to discover is based on his own sexual exploits, unwittingly recounted to the attentive Stewart. Coincidentally, at this time, Stewart is accidentally killed while out on his bike. Feeling cheated that Stewart has hijacked his own private and personal experiences for use in the novel, Cal misappropriates his dead roommate's manuscript, submitting it to top literary agent, Blackie Yaeger as his own work. Cal rationalizes his criminal actions, convincing himself that since it is his life, his experiences being described in the manuscript, he is, though not strictly speaking the author, entitled to claim the book as his own. "Almost like Suicide" proves to be a sensation, taking the literary world by storm. Instant literary acclaim, fame, fortune, book tours follow, launching Cal into the world of television talk shows and movie deals, living out a destiny that was rightfully Stewarts had he lived. The shadow of the dead Stewart looms over Cal who again finds himself walking in a dead man's shoes when he contrives to meet (and falls for) his dead roommate's ex-girlfriend. But ... there's always a price-tag! Cal is about to reap his comeuppance, the bubble he has been living in about to burst, the roller coaster ride that catapulted him to fame and fortune about to turn upside down and plunge him on a downward spiral into a world of blackmail and murder. Another thriller with a "finders-keepers" plotline you may enjoy is "A Simple Plan" by Scott Smith.
Rating:
Summary: Colapinto is a major find
Review: With "About The Author," John Colapinto has taken the traditional tired old thriller and turned it on its head. In the current climate of cookie-cutter, mass-market, assembly-line novels, this one's a true original. It's been a while since I've been truly excited about the arrival of a new author. In the book, Cal Cunningham, a struggling, impoverished wanna-be author in New York City is startled and seething with jealousy over the fact that his law student roommate has written a flawless novel of his own. When the roommate dies suddenly in a traffic accident, Cal decides to have the novel published as his own work. Fame and fortune ensue, but of course, we all know that it's going to come back to haunt him or else this wouldn't be much of a story. How the book progresses from this point I won't divulge (unlike some reviewers who insist on putting spoilers in every book and film review they post)-- it's a wild, fun, nail-biting ride, and I wouldn't dream of depriving a single reader of the pleasure. Colapinto's characters are excellently written, particularly the character of Cal, who has a biting sense of humor and is a refreshing change of pace -- most thillers' narrators are supermen who are daring and unflinching in the face of danger...not Cal, who's a scheming coward but you can't help but love him anyway. The character who ends up threatening to expose him (I won't give that one away, either) is evil, conniving, greedy and impossible to ignore...you keep wondering what kind of fresh hell Cal will be put through next. Funny, exciting, thrilling, and with the perfect ending, "About the Author" is the best book I've read in a long time. I can't wait to read more from John Colapinto.
Rating:
Summary: It has it all!
Review: About the Author is the best book I have ever read since If I told you Once. It's absolutely phenomenal,...I've never seen anything like it. There is everything in this book. From loneliness, to anger, to lust, to guilt. It has it all. Every single thing is so intricately woven, and in the end, you will find that there are no spaces left behind. I particularily enjoy reading Colapinto's style of writing. It is artistic, but in a way, humourous at the same time. The voices of the characters were very strong, and I felt that I knew the characters quite well, and could predict their actions by the end of the story. Right now, I'm just very angry because I haven't dicovered this book until now. It's the best I've read in ages! Trust me, you won't regret buying this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Chillingly Humorous Page-Turner!
Review: I finished reading About the Author in less than two days and it is without a doubt one of the best thrillers I've read this year! It had been at the top of my reading list for a while and now I wish I wouldn't have waited so long. You don't want to miss this one! This novel may be classified as "junk food" literature by some of the other reviewers here, but don't let that deter you. About the Author is high in Hitchcockian suspense and John Collapinto knows just what it takes to get your heart racing. If you've read and liked this one, I would also recommend The Secret History by Donna Tartt!
Rating:
Summary: A perfect literary thriller
Review: Cal Cunningham is a poor bookstore clerk in Manhattan. He has dreamed many times of becoming the writer of a novel that would send him to the top of the bestsellers list. When "Almost Like Suicide", the great novel based on Cal's life is published, it fulfils all his dreams. But is Cal really the author of the book. And what happened to Cal's flatmate Stewart, who died in a bicycle accident, and who had literary aspirations of his own? This literary thriller is wickedly satiric. Plagiarism, deception and blackmail are part of Call's not only planning his second novel , but also his first murder. A thriller as perfect as if it were written by Patricia Highsmith!
Rating:
Summary: False dawn
Review: Up until Cal Cunningham secures the huge advance for his stolen manuscript and the literary lunches begin this book is fresh, funny and engaging - it promises great things. The possibilities of a famous writer hiding a terrible secret are fabulous - alas Patricia Highsmith this isnt. From the New Halcyon days onwards it reads like another writer really has stolen THIS manuscript and finished it because it becomes another 'Husband blackmailed - God dont tell the wife' - type of potboiler. Such a waste because Mr Colapinto has a comic ear and Cal promised so much more. A holiday read - no more.
Rating:
Summary: A literary page turner
Review: I haven't had this much fun reading in a long time. There aren't many books that keep me reading until the wee hours of the morning, but this one did. I read in an interview that the author was hoping to write a cross between the picaresque novel Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis and the suspense novels of Patricia Highsmith. I think he pulled it off. The characters are all wonderfully wrought -- the roommate whose novel the main character steals, the young woman who taunts him, the bombastic literary agent, and the main character -- Cal -- are all expertly drawn. Colapinto can really write -- and there are many sections of the books where you really appreciate his gifts with words as you're rushing along to find out the next plot twist. I highly recommend it. (BTW, why would another reviewer single out "Byronesque" to make a case -- wrongly I think -- for overwrought prose? Byronesque is a fairly common term.)
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