Death of a Writer

by Michael Collins

Book Overview

For Robert Pendleton, a professor clinging to tenure and living in the shambles of his once-bright literary career, death seems to be the only remaining option. But his suicide attempt fails, halted... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1596912294
• ISBN13: 9781596912298
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Length: 307 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.5" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

`..some secrets are better revealed in the afterlife.'

Secrets, illusions and delusions: this is a novel that touches on each. Robert Pendleton, his hopes for a dazzling literary career are fading fast as is the security of his tenure at Bannockburn College. In his despair, Pendleton attempts suicide but fails when Adi Wiltshire, a student, intervenes. Ms Wiltshire discovers a novel hidden in Pendleton's basement which includes a gruesome child murder with an apparent resemblance to a real unsolved crime. Did Pendleton commit the real murder? How else could he have some of the details? Uncovering the facts is one aspect of this mystery, but there are other characters with interesting and intersecting pasts as well. Could one of them be the murderer? This novel is rich in detail and allusion. From the portrayal of Pendleton, the sleuthing of Adi Wiltshire and the relationships between Pendleton, Wiltshire and the other key characters this is a story to be immersed in. Why do people do what they do? Not even the pathetic image of Pendleton's rabbit with its slipper fetish diverted me from that question. I am certain that I will want to reread this book at some stage. In my rush to see how the novel concluded I know I didn't pause long enough to soak up the full impact of Mr Collin's writing. This is a novel that can be read as a good mystery but it also deserves to be read as good literature. I need to read more of Mr Collins's novels. Jennifer Cameron-Smith

College English Dept. through the ivy-covered back door!

WOW! This is the college English Department through the ivy-covered back door! In the years following the publication of his first book, the life of tenured English professor, E. Robert Pendleton, has been one of public pretense and private desperation as each of his subsequent manuscripts is rejected. Enter Adi Wiltshire, who after years of work can't seem to complete her graduate thesis. She ends up home-nursing Pendleton following his liquor-and-pill suicide attempt. In the basement of Pendleton's large home Adi stumbles upon unopened crates of Pendleton's self-published second novel and subsequently opens a hornet's nest of cold-case crime, campus and small town intrique, literary jealousy and suspicion. With multiple plot threads, Collins exposes the isolation and frustrations of academia coupled with the downward progression of a small, elite college and it's dying town. Pendleton, Wiltshire and others in this tale are well-developed characters living everyday lives that resonate with most of us. The isolation from neighbors and community, the frustration and humiliation of having multiple professional efforts rejected, the fickle world of the "decision makers" are increasingly familiar. This is a great read - a "can't put it down" kind of book.

Probably the best book I'll read this year.

E. Robert Pendleton is a middle-aged, frustrated college professor dying a little inside each day as he mulls over what he believes is the utter failure of his life. As a younger man his first novel had brought him acclaim as one of the literary world's new darlings - a Norman Mailer or William Faulkner. At the same time his sort-of friend and fellow writer, Allen Horowitz, provides some friendly competition. This would put me in mind of, say, Jay McInerny and Bret Easton Ellis during their heyday. There comes the fork in the road, though, when things can go either way, and the way Pendleton's goes is steeped in disappointment, humiliation and failure. His writing career spirals swiftly downward after that initial shine, like a shooting star that quickly burns out. To his horror, old nemesis Horowitz goes on to become wildly successful, each of his books more profitable and famous than the last, while Pendleton has had to scrabble to get and keep a job as a college professor (`those who can't write, teach'). Already drowning in his own disappointment and self-loathing, it suddenly gets a lot worse when Horowitz is booked to make a speech at the college and Pendleton is in charge of escorting him around. The night of Horowitz's arrival marks a turning point in Pendleton's life, plunging him even further into despair. Adi Wiltshire is a perpetual graduate student who ends up becoming a pseudo-caretaker to Pendleton, and while living in his house and trying to finish her thesis, makes a stunning discovery in an old, unmarked box stashed away under the stairs. Suddenly, the fame and notoriety Pendleton had craved crashes down on all of them, in a way that he never imagined and certainly didn't want. My review can't do this book justice. I've never read anything by this author before, but in reading a short bio learned that a previous book of his, Keepers of the Truth, was shortlisted for the Booker prize. I can see why. This writing is brilliant. The characters are absolutely genuine with not a hint of the two-dimensional glossiness most characters have; they're so real it's almost painful. I haven't read anything so evocative and engrossing in a LONG time. This particular story is billed as a mystery and it is that, but it's also one of those books that transcend genre. When you read a book like this, you realize just how powerful good writing can be. It doesn't just entertain; it becomes embedded in your brain.

Death of a Writer Is A Great Read

I highly recommend Death Of A Writer. The twists and turns that lead to the ultimate solution of who murdered Amber Jewel are creative and enjoyable. The book provedes a frightening glimpse into the darker aspects of the human psyche. The self-deceptions that we all engage in to some extent are taken to their most negative extremes in most of Michael Collins characters in this novel. The phrasing and timing of the writing are engaging and eact time I had to interrupt my reading I could not wait to pick the book up again.

5 STARS AND A STANDING OVATION

Booker Prize nominee Michael Collins brilliantly combines a psychological study, the literary world, and mounting suspense in his latest novel Death Of A Writer. Collins's satirical take on academia is priceless, while his understanding portrait of the tragic compelling. More than a story this novel is also a telling picture of the lives of many today. Part I introduces E. Robert Pendleton, acclaimed author of Winterland. He was hailed, called a literary rising star but that was ten years ago and the well quickly ran dry. "His latest work had been rejected by every major house in New York." Thus, he is reduced to teaching, becoming a professor at Bonnockburn College, a small Midwestern university or, as he puts it a "venerable cradle of mediocrity." Yearning for the success that escaped him he drinks too much and hangs onto tenure for dear life. He has been asked to bring a known writer to the campus for the Distinguished Lecture Series. He does so, but schedules the event, an academic one, for Homecoming Weekend, the worst time possible to gather an audience. The Chair of the English Department calls the choice of the date a "setup" for failure. Actually, the date conflict was not enough - he has invited Allen Horowitz, an author who had once shared the limelight with Pendleton as a rising star. But while Horowitz's career had skyrocketed, Pendleton's had died. He is so obsessed by Horowitz that he even keeps a spreadsheet of all of his reviews. Disgruntled, depressed, Pendleton invites Adi, a voluptuous seven year grad student, to accompany him to the airport to pick up Horowitz. He is briefly revitalized when she tells him that she is reading his book, Winterland. That victory is short lived when Horowitz quickly captures her attention. Pendleton decides there is only one option - he will take his own life. He hurriedly writes a will, leaving all to Adi and begins to kill himself. Despite quantities of pills and vodka he is unsuccessful but the attempt has left him in a comatose state and later relegated to a wheelchair. Adi has come by his house to check on him. She is the one who saves him from death to a living death. While he is in the hospital a novel, "Scream" is found hidden in his basement. It is an incredibly fine story of a child murder. Adi and Horowitz decide to have it published. It is received with all the public and professional approbation that Pendleton sought. However, he is not in any condition to enjoy his success. Further, the murder at the center of the story bears an uncanny resemblance to the actual unsolved murder of a young girl, Amber Jewel. Part 2, titled "The Investigation" introduces Jon Ryder, an experienced cold case cop who knows how to ferret out the truth no matter how long it has been hidden. He has the copy of a cassette mailed anonymously that brought to light the parallels in the deaths of Amber and a fictional victim. The taped voice ends with a question ask