Customer Reviews

Paperback Writer

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I enjoyed Paperback Writer. Bly messed with my head making it clear that not only did his protagonist not know what was real and what was imagined, but neither did I. My wife and I took turns reading on a trip and often stopped and looked at one another when it took another 180 degree turn, catching us off guard and keeping us off balance. He took a chance with this book and in my opinion it works if the reader is willing to go with it. I also very much identified with the conclusions the writer reached about his writing and found them very applicable to my own writing.

Terry W. Burns
Mysterious Ways Series from River Oak
www.terryburns.net

I have read a lot of Stephen Bly's books and this one is by far the best one. The man in the story is coming to terms with himself. He is tired, stressed and is wondering if he should keep on writing. In the end he discovers that doing what Jesus wants him to do is always the way to peace. A fantastic book. Really makes you think and ponder. And don't forget the topic of the book-God.

The Christian parts are distracting and gratuitous. The author is straddling the border between two different types of stories, and the book suffers because he fails to choose a side. Either the book can be about a man who is coming to terms with his life, or it can be about a man who is coming to terms with his God. Either one would have been stronger than this, a story about a religious man who retreats into a fantasy world.

Stephen Bly's Paperback Writer pushes the envelope of the bizzare. Better yet it rips it open, spilling the contents of controlled chaos into the readers lap.
This book is The Odyssey meets Neil Simon's Jakes Women. A moderately famous writer making his way home after completing his latest work, taking along a host of imaginary (or real?) friends.
The humor in Paperback Writer is dangerously funny. Set in such a contextually strange manner, that some passages have to be re-read, but this only adds to the fun.
A truly unique reading experience.

This is the first Stephen Bly novel I've read, and since I know his other books are much different (Western/Historical) I am willing to give them a try.
This one was confusing and a little hard for me to follow. Once I stopped trying as much to figure out everything and just read for reading's sake, it was quite interesting. I could identify with having fantasies, because I often imagine talking to people I know (not characters from my stories, though I do write) and being more outspoken than I am in real life.
I laughed a few times and sort of got into the mystery of things, but I was expecting more of an explanation of things in the end.
Maybe if I read it a second time I could figure things out better, but I don't think I want to read it again (for several years, anyway).
At the end, I went back and checked off all the book titles Toby McKenna mentioned to see if he named them all on the list. I think he did, but I missed a few when I went back to check.
It's an original and interesting story idea, but I think it could have been better. I was expecting it to be highly exciting from the reviews on the back cover and inside the book, and while there were moments of excitement, I wasn't so impressed with it as the other writers were.
Interesting how Stephen Bly even mentioned himself/his books in this novel. ;)

*Spoilers*

How could the lady and the boy not be real if Mr. Watson had tears on his shirt from her crying? Did he spill something there and I didn't notice?

Paperback Writer was the first book of Bly's that I've ever read, so I can't compare it to his other works. Standing alone, it does give me a definite opinion of the author.

The main character in the story is like a modern day Walter Mitty. A writer, Paul James Watson, after having completed his latest book, is trying to return home, but his mind keeps churning up scenes. In his mind, he flirts with waitresses, hangs out with his fictional detective, gets involved with a cryptic damsel in distress, and sets out on a hunt for the most dangerous man in America.

But unlike Walter Mitty, our hero can no longer tell fantasy from reality. Not all scenes are romanticized adventure. Even conversations over the phone to his family may or may not be real. It's left to the reader to determine what was real and what was fantasy, and that's part of the fun.

The main criticism I have for this book is that the Christian parts seem woefully, and almost comically, out of place. Watson's dialogues with God serve little purpose, and if they had been pulled from the book before publication, they never would have been missed. It's almost as if the author would suddenly remember that he had to appease the Christian reading crowd, so instead of Watson having an internal dialogue, the author made it a conversation with God.

Of all the characters that Watson turns to in the story for help, God seems to contribute the least. I'm not sure what that says for the author's view of Christianity. In the case of Watson, his strength and resolve to see the story through, to do the right thing in the end, comes more from the frustration in his life rather than his relationship with God.

The Christian parts are distracting, to say the least. To say the most, They're gratuitous. The author is straddling the border between two different types of stories, and the book suffers because he fails to choose a side. Either the book can be about a man who is coming to terms with his life, or it can be about a man who is coming to terms with his God. Either one would have been stronger than this, a story about a religious man who retreats into a fantasy world, of which Christianity is the most ineffective part.

After the first 50 pages or so, I was mentally making a list of people to recommend this book to. The beginning carries itself very well and seems promising.. But after having finished it, it's not likely that I'll recommend it to anyone else. Nor does this book particularly make me want to seek out other books by Bly.

I, as a HUGE Bly fan, got really excited over his new book. I finally got to read it and it flopped. I suspect that Bly didn't even write this one, or he wrote it on a bad day. I love his books... the Austin-Stoner Files the best... nothin' can beat Lynda Dawn Darlin' and Cowboy Brady. In the books I've read by Bly the book is filled with lots of dry humor, lots of character developments and relationships. He can't be topped! He's a GREAT author... just don't read this book. From the begginning it is dry without any foundation. All you know is that this guy is a paperback writer and then nothing. You get very confused trying to figure out if you are reading a fictionalized scene in his mind or the real story... though that may have some appeal to others, not to me... at least not this kind. I enjoyed that kind of thing very much in Ted Dekker's "Three", but here it is just chaos and confusing and totally uncaptivating... so unlike my favorite author Stephen Bly. I mean it looked soooooo good, but it's terrible. I'm the kind of person who, even if it's not the best book, I like to finish it out... this book, I just read half of it and was able to drop it without one drop of doubt or wondering what was going to happen. TERRIBLE... Don't waste your time... instead read his FABULOUS other books! Thanks.
-Charlotte, a Stephen Bly Fan

Stephen Bly's Paperback Writer pushes the envelope of the bizzare. Better yet it rips it open, spilling the contents of controlled chaos into the readers lap.
This book is The Odyssey meets Neil Simon's Jakes Women. A moderately famous writer making his way home after completing his latest work, taking along a host of imaginary (or real?) friends.
The humor in Paperback Writer is dangerously funny. Set in such a contextually strange manner, that some passages have to be re-read, but this only adds to the fun.
A truly unique reading experience.

Arnn, October 2003

As the author of The Distracted Detective series, Paul James Watson knows his work won't ever hit the bestseller list, but he doggedly pushes himself to complete five books each year. Over the years his life has become so routine, that everything, including his Christian walk, has become blasé and on cruise-control.

However, this time he has buried himself in the fictional world of his hero, Tobias McKenna once too often. After finishing his latest book, the line between reality and imagination have blurred. Emotionally spent, Paul climbs behind the steering wheel of his truck for the long drive home. He's not alone, though, Toby's come along for the ride. Or has he?

When Paul stops to help a woman and child in distress, he becomes entangled in espionage, staying just steps ahead of a serial bomber. Or does he? Just when you think you've figured things out, Bly flips the plot on its ear and leaves you scratching your head.

Paperback Writer takes readers into the intricate roller coaster workings of a writer's mind and leaves them dazed and wanting more. Stephen Bly proves himself again as a master word-weaver. Hats off to you, Cowboy!

The story was confusing, the Christian aspects served no purpose, and the characters were not developed so that we could like them.