Potboiler [Hardcover]

Jesse Kellerman (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 5, 2012

Arthur Pfefferkorn is a has-been, or perhaps a never-was: a middle-aged college professor with long-dead literary aspirations. When his oldest friend, bestselling thriller writer William de Vallèe, is lost at sea, Pfefferkorn is torn between envy and grief, for de Vallèe not only outshone Pfefferkorn professionally, but married the woman Pfefferkorn loved.
Pfefferkorn’s decision to reconnect with de Vallèe’s widow sets in motion a surreal chain of events, plunging him into a shadowy realm of double crosses and intrigue, a world where no one can be trusted--and nothing can be taken seriously.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Seldom, if ever, have the cloak-and-dagger folk—of any stripe, ours or theirs—appeared so omniscient, so omnipotent and so perfectly awful as they do in Kellerman’s mordantly funny latest… Another brilliant performance. Kellerman has fun here, and so will his readers.”  
—Kirkus (starred)

“Kellerman ruminates on the practice of writing, the experience of sudden literary success, the nature of friendship, and the contrasts between the lives of writers and spies. Potboiler is very funny – and insightful.”

—Booklist

“Kellerman balances the line between thrills and satire in this unique reading experience filled with mysteries, conspiracies, double crosses and shadowy villains….Fun in completely unexpected ways. Only a great writer like Kellerman could make it work at all well.”

—Romantic Times

“This satire heavy novel works well… There are truly funny observations about publishing, what merits good writing, and the excesses of the thriller genre.”

—Library Journal

"A tough, funny satire of the titled genre… Kellerman wants to have fun with thrillers… creating a niche for himself by focusing on characters who are never as smart as they think they are…. a frequently hilarious Moebius strip of a novel."

—Palm Beach Post

About the Author

Jesse Kellerman is the internationally bestselling author of four previous novels, The Executor, The Genius, Trouble, and Sunstroke. His books and plays have also won several awards. He lives in La Jolla, California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult (July 5, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780399159039
• ISBN-13: 978-0399159039
• ASIN: 0399159037
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #430,248 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jesse Kellerman is the author of three previous novels, The Genius, Trouble, and Sunstroke. His plays have also won several awards, including the 2003 Princess Grace Award, given to America's most promising young playwright. He lives in California.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Waste of time! August 6, 2012

By Luv to read

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Because I've enjoyed his books before, I really looked forward to this one but boy was it a disappointment. Your spend all that time getting into the story line, trying to grasp where it's going, and then the whole story gets weird and ridiculous and your realize you are reading a spoof and not a serious novel. I honestly felt 'duped that I spent money on this book, and that's a first for me. Yes, I've been disappointed in books before but this wreaked of pre-meditated 'gotcha' by the author who makes money from my trust that I'm buying something worth reading. Seriously - don't waste your money like I did!

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best yet July 8, 2012

By Sam Rollins

Format:Hardcover

This novel is extremely well written, terrifically engaging and obscenely funny. I laughed out loud on more than one occasion, and I suspect that I will not be the only reader to do so -- not by a longshot.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Words fail... September 5, 2012

By Keris Nine TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

Coming from a family of famous writers, there's undoubtedly pressure on Jesse Kellerman to live up to high expectations, so it's understandable then that he might in some way want to address the question of the purpose of literature and the nature of being a writer in his books, but can that be done in the context of a thriller? From the Jesse Kellerman's books that I've read (Trouble and The Executor), there's been a failure to not so much to live up to those expectations (I've never read Jonathan or Faye Kellerman) as much as a failure to live up to what each book proposes, failing to integrate the initial premise with the genre expectations in a way that has any kind of originality or conviction. Potboiler is the most bewildering attempt yet by Kellerman to infuse genre fiction with some kind of literary significance.

The novel starts out in simple enough manner, with a Stephen King-like premise that is intriguing, even if you think it's easy enough to predict where it is going. Despite once having written a successful and acclaimed literary work, Arthur Pfefferkorn has spent the remaining years of his adult life in the wilderness, unable to follow it up, working as a lecturer in creative writing. Still, he convinces himself that it's better than selling-out like his old friend Bill, the popular action-adventure bestseller author William de Vallée. When Bill dies or disappears in a boating accident (no body? hmmm...), Pfefferkorn uncovers a near complete manuscript of an unpublished Dick Stapp thriller in his old friend's study, reworks it to change names and add some literary value, and becomes an overnight sensation once again. Fame, celebrity, acclaim, money all come to Arthur, as does Carlotta, Bill's glamorous wife, who he has long been in love with. But... where's the next book going to come from?

Well, if I told you, you wouldn't believe me, and I'd probably have to kill you. As corny as that sounds however, it's nothing to what follows in Potboiler, although it's in the right spirit. If you've read Jesse Kellerman, you'll know that the plot twists can be outrageous/ridiculous, but this one will really throw you. No matter how ridiculous it gets - and I couldn't even begin to describe the turns this one takes even if I wanted to - there are enough hints and clues here that the plot shouldn't be taken entirely seriously, but that the author is trying to get across something deeper here about the nature and function of writing. Or maybe it's a way of breaking through writer's block - there are enough clues that suggest that this is also an option - which in itself isn't a bad thing, an experience that could potentially lead to some interesting soul-searching and revelations about the nature of writing.

Unfortunately, I'm not convinced that Kellerman is up to it, and you'd be hard pressed to draw anything of merit or originality from Potboiler. The humour is weak, the satire is weak, the parody is weak and the attempt to suggest that it has literary significance is an utter failure. To some extent however there is a redemptive quality to Pfefferkorn's experience, even if it's just on the Hemingway-esque notion of true honest writing being a good and noble thing, and there's enough ambiguity in the outlandish premise and its developments and subtext to suggest that there may be other ways of reading the book. For most people however this will probably be another agonisingly painful Kellerman read - it was for me - starting out full of potential but ending up completely losing its way.