Rating: 
Summary: Authorial meltdown...
Review: First off, this is a fascinating book. The pace is frantic, the story is "unsettling" (this is a positive context), at the end of this book I sat in awe for what seemed like and eternity..I found myself unremittingly comparing this novel to Paul Auster's "The Locked Room" and David Czuchlewski's "The Muse Asylum", both of which I highly reccomend, which shine in their own respects. I found the main character, Cal Cunningham, at odds with how I would act in such a situation, which was at times frustrating, but forced me to actually get inside this character and see things through his reality, a literary achievment in its own sense. The bottom line is that I am not much of a critic, like you couldn't tell, just read it and post what you think
Rating:
Summary: I wish I'd written this book
Review: I wish I'd written this book, because it's fast-paced and clever and one of those good reads you're loath to put down. But unlike the seriously writer's-blocked protagonist of John Colapinto's About the Author, I don't have a manically productive and unexpectedly talented law student rooming with me. But what if I did? And what if said law student turned up dead one day? The author takes this simple premise (*God*, I wish I'd written this) and runs with it. A great read.
Rating:
Summary: Why didn't I think of this story?!?!
Review: I could have enjoyed a marvelous career, replete with Manhattan cocktail parties, summers at Basin Harbor, and literary agents hurling Dreamworks money my way. Perhaps I should steal it! This is the premise behind John Colapinto's "About the Author" as our protaganist, young bon vivant, Cal Cunningham makes off with a manuscript and crashes through 254 pages of daring do, daring don't and "how do I get outa this one?" Sudden fame and wealth, a new love, an old fling, and a ghost author all haunt Cunningham's every move as he continually tries to bury the evidence, but can't just quite. The manuscript in question, its author, the blackmailing girlfriend...they each seemingly have nine lives. Colapinto displays the wit of a Christopher Buckley, the plot twists of a Stephen King, and the language skills of a Wilfrid Gallimore. His literary references are cheap and suitably impressive, (Cal retires to "New Halycon" and paddles on "Sylvan Lake" in Vermont,) and he brings such tremendous color to characters that one seems to have known them before (Marshall Weibe?) Surprise deaths,... drug-running, Elvis Costello quotes -- all the requisites of a big money book -- all there. "About the Author" is a highly entertaining spoof of the publishing landscape, and its storyline keeps the reader turning pages. Good cricket! I recommend you purchase a copy immediately, buy another for a loved one, and then additional copies for everyone on your PalmPilot. Send the royalties to, (ahem), ME.
Rating:
Summary: About this Author
Review: We have a new P.G. Wodehouse, maybe even better, we will see. One of the best pieces of fiction I have read in a long time. what a find, this Author deserves all the great reviews he is getting. All the wonderful twists in this great story will have you either smiling or laughing out loud.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Cal Cunningham works in a bookstore in Manhattan and dreams of being a successful novelist. He discovers his roommate's manuscript and is stunned at how great it is, and when his roommate is killed in a traffic collision, Cal passes the book off as his own and is soon the hottest commodity in publishing. He marries and tries to settle into being the successful novelist he's supposed to be. His own guilt and a young woman named Lesley from his past begin to unravel the scheme. Lesley not only blackmails Cal, but she also seduces his wife. Cal is soon thinking of murder, but can he possibly pull that off too? The book is supposed to be satirical and suspenseful, but it comes off as pretentious and fatuous. None of the characters are worth knowing, and the ludicrous ending stretches this farce too far.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: This book has it all -- suspense, humor, twists and turns, interesting characters. I couldn't put it down. I will be keeping my eyes peeled for Colapinto's next one.
Rating:
Summary: Too much telling, not enough showing
Review: Eh, this left me completely underwhelmed. Mindless braincandy, really. I guess I didn't like Cal enough to forgive him for his sins. It's entertaining, but don't expect it to stick with you once you close the back cover.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant...
Review: All irony and plot aside, let's hope that THIS gets made into a movie...a rare find in today's world of new books. Highly, highly recommend it. Modern yet classic thriller type with a twist.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT READ!
Review: If you were going to classify this book into a certain category (mystery, thriller, etc.), it would be impossible to do so; and there lies its appeal. The story is unique and fast-pace, a novel truly worth reading. I would recommend this book for not only those who love to read on a regular basis, but also those who pick up a book once or twice a year. A well-written novel that will not leave anyone disappointed. J. Young
Rating: 
Summary: A Hypomanic First Draft?
Review: This book reminded me of the scene in "Adaptation" in which Nicholas Cage's character, the pitiable struggling writer, chatters excitedly into his handheld recorder his sudden, grand, and intoxicatingly wonderful ideas for his screenplay. The following scene is delightfully hilarious. Later and in a more rational state, the same character is listening to himself jabber from the recorder, and he appears pained and utterly crestfallen. But the ideas and words seemed so fresh! So devilishly clever! Yes! This story's a sure-fire winner! Ugh. Unfortunately for all of us readers, the author of "About the Author" did not listen to himself the next day after his overexcited rant. So we are the ones to suffer through it with increasing pain and falling crests. A note to authors everywhere: respect your readers, and your readers will respect you. If the sudden plot twists (coincidences beyond the pale) seem nearly too good to be true, they are. Don't use them. Eighty percent of the commas and all of the narrator-whisper paranthetical statements in this book should have been eliminated. The movie "A Murder of Crows" with Cuba Gooding Jr. has a similar premise and is MUCH more enjoyable than "About the Author." The movie is not GREAT, but shoot, I'd watch it again. Whereas this book is going into the trash bin.
| 
