Shop Ireland

About the Author by: John Colapinto

Click to tell a friend about this item...

More Product Details...

Review Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next »

Click here to add a review!

Average rating -

Rating: - Gripping and pacy

"About The Author" may be a bland and unexciting title for a debut novel but the story behind it is gripping and pacy. At the centre is Cal Cunningham, a frustrated would-be writer who, desperate for literary success, creates a web of deception so great his whole life - everything from his career, marriage and identity - becomes one big lie.

Skillful writing means you're never sure if Cal is just downright amoral or just incredibly stupid. You feel you should dislike him but somehow John Colapinto gets you to empathise with him despite yourself, even at the darkest of times. It can be quite a stressful read as you watch Cal, with whom you empathise but feel you shouldn't, get deeper and deeper into trouble.

Described on the jacket as a satiric thriller this debut novel has more in common with film noir - deception, femme fatale, shoot out, and love story.

Only one thing gives away that this is a debut novel. Occasionally John Colapinto resorts to hammy, slightly melodramatic one liners with which to end his chapters, as though he doesn't trust the reader to be engaged enough to read on otherwise. Other than that, "About An Author" is a skillful yarn, one you could and will, I'm sure, be happy to read in one sitting.

Rating: - A very cute story

The scenario as per the book cover makes a lot of the Hitchcock type storyline and to be fair it has many of those elements - a flawed would be author who because of fate gets a once in a lifetime opportunity to achieve his dreams in terms of money and love, but in so doing must make a fatal compromise that comes back to haunt him over the course of the story.

Written from the author's perspective, Colapinto keps the action and intrigue flowing well across the 250 pages. While at times some of the plot feels a bit cliched this is inevitable because he links it into well trodden scenarios such as the "eat what you kill" world of novel writing and literary agents, or the happy marriage in a secluded idyllic country setting which is easily upset by the arrival of any stranger with a different agenda.

The ending suffers a tad from the feel good factor and every loose end being tied up neatly (an indirect comment maybe as to the issue covered in the novel that books to be financially succesful have always to be written with Hollywood in mind) but as a thriller read the book hits enough of the right buttons to be on my recommended list.

Rating: - An enjoyable read but too obvious

I enjoyed reading this book and on that level would happily recommend to others as an well written and enjoyable story.

Maybe my relatively poor "3 Star" rating has more to do with the fact that that this book was recommended to me by a person who has open my eyes to some wonderful books that I would never have looked at normally, and although well written the conclusion was just too obvious. I knew how it was going to end after reading the first chapter - the only question was how long it would take to get there and what twists it would take in getting to the obvious conclusion. So I knew where I was going (and I really didn't want the ending to be so dull) but I enjoyed the scenery getting there.

Rating: - Enjoyable lightweight thriller

Gives a whole new meaning to the term 'literary thriller', this engaging tale of authorial theft, starts briskly and brilliantly and then slowly becomes more predictable, implausible and mawkish. Deserves to be read for the first half alone, but as soon as the major love interest walks in, things become rather ordinary.

Rating: - Just When He Thought He Was Safe . . .

This is a great suspense chase from a first time novelist. From chapter one I was totally captivated by the introduction of the lead character, Cal Cunningham and his soon to be dead and plagiarised flat mate, Stewart. Stewart's death is a pure accident but Cal passing-off Stewart's book as his own is not. Yet, because the plagiarised story is actually Cal's life story the reader has a great deal of sympathy with Cal and throughout all the chase and blackmailing I really wanted Cal to get away with it. The story is very fast paced and the turn of events altering Cal Cunningham's life are believable and at times quite breathtaking. The book reads as quickly and smoothly as a Dean Koontz and is as accomplished at suspense as Harlan Coben. If you like either of those two authors you'll enjoy this book.

Review Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next »