Lit Life A Novel edition by Kurt Wenzel Exciting Press Literature Fiction eBooks
Download As PDF : Lit Life A Novel edition by Kurt Wenzel Exciting Press Literature Fiction eBooks 
Which is worth more—celebrity or credibility? Set in Manhattan and the Hamptons, Lit Life identifies and deconstructs this dilemma as it takes the reader on a hilarious tour through the world of two eccentric writers. Kyle Clayton, a “once hot, now not” young author and provocateur with a serious case of writer’s block, navigates New York nightlife in an inebriated haze until he meets his literary hero, the dyspeptic and obscure novelist Richard Whitehurst, who is smitten with the notion of Kyle’s former fame. Richard is suffering his own form of breakdown because of the looming collapse of his marriage, not to mention years of public ambivalence toward his work. As the two writers’ lives collide, they find in each other the crutch they’ve each been seeking—and, perhaps, the salvation that has eluded them both.
Kurt Wenzel’s taut, coruscating prose and intimate, precisely rendered take on the literary scene make this the most brilliantly realized novel about the publishing world since Martin Amis’s The Information.
From Publishers Weekly
In his debut novel, a sardonic take on the New York publishing world, Wenzel wryly dissects the troubled writing lives of two authors, one a talented newcomer sidetracked by fame and the other a disillusioned veteran. Kyle Clayton, a young writer whose first novel brought him literary stardom, is now a drunken failure, creatively spent. Lionized by the Gen-X set, Clayton faces increasing pressure from his publisher to either produce or pay back the huge advance for his contracted second novel, due four years earlier. Meanwhile, Richard Whitehurst, termed the "most underrated writer in America," fights to keep his career and life together after his new novel, a magnum opus 10 years in the making, falls short of expectations, gleaning positive reviews but selling only a few copies. While Richard struggles with depression and a sexless marriage, Kyle plots an escape from his emotionally draining relationship with an aging patron, who refuses to give him the loan that will free him from her control. Following a highly anticipated meeting at a literary party, Kyle agrees to a summer stay at Richard's Hamptons house, where the spectacle of the Whitehurst family's deterioration forces him to mature and take stock of his own life as a man and writer. Against a solid backdrop of the glittering New York literary world, Wenzel's stinging barbs frequently hit their targets, making astute statements about the hazards of the writing life without sacrificing anything in plot or characterization. Wenzel also gives the reader a final treat in a wild, harrowing wrap-up, ensuring that this novel will stand out from the summer pack. This book should interest anyone who loves books or the behind-the scenes intrigue of the publishing business.
Lit Life A Novel edition by Kurt Wenzel Exciting Press Literature Fiction eBooks
I liked it and so will all thosewho are entertained by the anticsof writers in their private livesProduct details
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Lit Life A Novel edition by Kurt Wenzel Exciting Press Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
As the novel begins, it seems you're in for comic satire, as young writer Kyle Clayton wakes up from a night of debauchery. And the book delivers plenty of behind-the-scenes laughs over what the book business is all about today. But the book quickly starts to deliver a much greater literary impact. Its greatest strength is its characters. They're not mere stereotypes or rip-offs of famous types -- Jay MacInerny, John Cheever, Candace Bushnell -- they become full-fledged characters with their own quirks and flaws. Wenzel does have a breezy style, but he can also be quite the stylist. There's a section in the head of the wife of the John-Cheever type -- her name is Meryl -- that is lyrical. The books is a very funny send-up of the way the American obsession with celebrity has overtaken the book business, but themes that transcend that business are also explored -- older men's search for proteges, young men's search for mentors, the attempts of self-absorbed fathers and rebellious daughters to connect, to name a few. There are some very poignant statements here about the limitations others' views of us put on our lives. The characters are likable -- even when they behave despicably -- because they're all so trapped by the public images they feel obligated to fulfill. I highly recommend this book.
Lit Life is Kurt Wenzel first novel, and is centered on three characters Kyle Clayton, whose first novel was a huge success, but has written nothing else for years; Richard Whitehurst, who is called America's most underrated writer, having failed to achieve success despite a lifetime of hard work and respectable reviews; and Whitehurst's wife Meryl, who after decades of marriage to Whitehurst sees their relationship dying as a result of the writer's failure to achieve the success he has dreamed of. Clayton and Whitehurst could not seem more different -- Clayton has spent the years since his first novel getting drunk and chasing women, while Whitehurst has shown an almost monkish dedication to his work, to the point that he is alienated from his wife and daughter. However, the differences between the two result in a relationship. Clayton has long admired Whitehurst's work, and Whitehurst admires Clayton's work and envies his fame. By the time the two meet, that fame has gone sour -- Clayton finds himself listed in an article in New York magazine as one of the 100 most obnoxious New Yorkers. Whitehurst persuades Clayton to spend the summer with him in the Hamptons, and this intrusion into Whitehurst's settled life has consequences that no one could have expected.
This description of the plot makes the book sound like grim reading. It is not. Clayton's escapades at throughout the book, as he gets drunk, behaves (at times) badly, and ponders the possibility of agreeing to product placement in his next book are all very funny. The last idea is not as fanciful as it sounds; a noted British novelist agreed to such a deal (I don't know if Wenzel anticipated it or not). While Wenzel has some interesting things to say about the life of a writer, he does so in a way that has broad appeal -- this is not a navel-gazing book. And Wenzel is quick to see the humor in his other charactes as well. The book is best described as a satire.
Wenzel is a highly skilled writer. He moves the vantage point of the novel from Clayton, to Whitehurst, and to Meryl to show how the characters view themselves and each other. This is an effective way to flesh a character out. And Wenzel handles his three main characters well -- none of them are stereotypes.
The book moves smoothly from comedy to tragedy, with an very effective ending. I look forward to Wenzel's next book.
"Lit Life" or Lit Lite? That's the question that pops to mind after finishing this pseudo roman a clef.
Its formula is simple take the last half-century of American lit, New York division only, and wrap it around the theme of an artist's struggle between the demands of art and the temptations of commerce.
"Lit Life" would make a great party game, along the lines of the one played in the book, in which the first line of a novel is quoted and the players must come up with the book and author. Is Bret Easton Ellis or Jay McInery closer to Kyle Clayton, the brat pack hotshot who's eight years past the blazing success of his debut novel, now infested with writer's block and an adoration of alcohol, on the outs with his friends, his co-writers and his agent? Then there are his potential mentors the elderly "writer's writer" -- meaning critical favorite but no sales -- Richard Whitehurst, whose last book, in the works for ten years, bombed (let's see, reclusive yet respected and depressive, that's William Gaddis, and the decade-long book that bombed could be "The Tunnel," by William Gass); and Arthur Trebelaine, the popular writer with the Hemingwayesque reputation (Herman Wouk? Mario Puzo? How about Irwin Shaw? Discuss.)
When Kyle's latest escapade made him persona non grata in Manhatten, he accepts Richard's invitation to spend the summer with him at his house on Long Island. There, he finds himself rejuvinated enough to resume writing, but he's also plunged into Whitehurst's crippled family, consisting of his estranged and attractive younger wife, the drug-addicted wild daughter who blames daddy for everything bad that's happened to her (Elizabeth Wurzel! Just kidding.). Kyle also finds himself becoming the rope in a tug-of-war between Richard and Arthur, whose close friendship is unraveling rapidly under the stress of jealousy, envy, paranoia and fear.
Don't expect to find sympathetic characters; the three writers are sometimes charming, but all monsters in different ways, and their self-absorption makes me want to hit them with a clue stick. But if you're interested in the tribulations and paranoias of the writing life, "Lit Life" offers a stress-free, sometimes amusing voyage, sort of like the "Pirates of the Carribbean" ride at Disneyland see the old-fashioned agent dunking pickles into his coffee at a deli meeting with a writer; see the rapacioius publisher threatening to sue to get Kyle's advance back; see the combination of back-biting and brown-nosing that goes on at a PEN party. Some of the story lines don't make sense. Would "The Paris Review" really favor a profile of Trebelaine over Whitehurst? And what did Chevy Chase do to Wenzel that earned him an extended cameo as a buffoon during a charity softball game on the Hamptons that co-starred Martha Stuart, Billy Joel and coach John Grisham?
Wenzel displays a wonderful skill at crafting satirical barbs and effortless prose, which writers know takes a lot of work to achieve. "Lit Life" is a slightly pre-chewed chunk of summer fiction that can be read and digested before the weekend's over.
I liked it and so will all thosewho are entertained by the anticsof writers in their private lives
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