The Goodlife

by Keith Scribner

Book Overview

Based on the true story of the kidnapping of an Exxon executive in suburban New Jersey, The Goodlife is the chilling story of an ordinary husband and wife consumed by their pursuit of the American... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1573221430
• ISBN13: 9781573221436
• Release Date: October 1999
• Publisher: Riverhead Books
• Length: 263 Pages
• Weight: 0.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.9" x 8.7"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Terrific First Novel

Keith Scribner has written both a psychological drama and a suspense thriller in his first novel. The Goodlife, based on an actual event, begins with the kidnapping of a chemical company executive and follows the crime over a three day period. The plot unfolds through the points of view of the five main characters, moving the story forward, from different directions, to it's completion. This is a very complex, yet readable, compelling story. The writing is gritty, riveting and true to life and Mr. Scribner has a real talent for dialogue. The characters are painstakingly drawn and developed and the scenes so vivid they almost jump off the page. A tight, suspenseful, fast-paced page turner. Keith Scribner doesn't disappoint.

Mister Brown - He Dead

This book deserves to be on everyone's "must read" list, including Oprah's. Keith Scribner begins with an ordinary middle-aged suburban couple, Theo and Colleen, who are full of baby-boomer dreams and reality failures. Then he has them perform a most extraordinary act - kidnapping a petrochemical executive in order to get what they have always rightfully deserved, an $18.5 million ransom. The story is told from five points of view. This would normally unhinge any narrative, except that this plot is so riveting, so compelling in its forward thrust, that it keeps the diverse views all hanging together in its wake. As a result, we are given insight into five different moral universes. Theo, consumed by the angry detritus of failure and the need to measure up, has gone morally bankrupt. Colleen, his wife and co-conspirator, has taken moral relativism to its fantasy extreme, while instinctively trying to cover up the vacuum with acts of caring. Malcolm, Theo's father, has a moral goodness so assured that it makes him an unwitting critic, then a meddler and, ultimately, a betrayer. Stona, the innocent victim, is given the opportunity to reflect on a life of moral compromises, as a personal manipulator, as a hardened businessman, and possibly even as an abettor to murder. Nunny, Stona's wife, is a moral puritan, loyal and true, yet inside a poseur harboring deep resentments. (Dot, Malcolm's wife and implicit sixth viewpoint, is a moral cipher but just about the only "normal" person around.) As the kidnapping collapses like a California earthquake, the reader is left with his moral firmament firmly shaken, uncertain as to how to walk the straight-and-narrow and wondering how the hell we are all going to put our priorities back together again. Highly recommended, including the set-piece in which Colleen arouses herself with GoodLife (read Amway) products while fantasizing sex with the tan, blue-eyed GoodLife motivational guru - worthy of comparison with Meg Ryan's deli scene in "When Harry Met Sally."

Simply could not put this one down....

Every one or two years, I find a book that I read in one sitting. This was one of those rare finds. I bought it for no reason other than I liked the look of it and thought that the subject matter referenced on the cover copy sounded interesting. 267 or so pages later, I put the book down and sat there for a minute in awe. This book is such a great commentary on the disease of "get rich quick" mentality of this country. Colleen actually manages to justify her motives and parallel the potential future gains of the crime with hard work and social climbing. Stona (I agree that the name is annoying) and his mental anguish and physical ordeal was absolutely terrifying. I have always had a fear of confined spaces....What a great book.

amazing first novel:riveting, funny, poignant and memorable

I was impressed by the intricacy of the plot and the wonderfully drawn characters, each unique in their pathos. Kidnapping is nothing to laugh about, but Scribner's prose is so pointed and at times, wicked, I couldn't help myself. This book is a page-turner on many levels. From his arch observations to the riveting dialog, Scribner's writing is superb. I think this debut novel is the beginning of an impressive career.

Stunning first novel by a new talent.

This is a diturbing and powerful book -- a real condemnation of these shallow times -- and yet it is moving, too. I hope we see more from this young writer.