What happens when America's greatest author dies before delivering the sequel to America’s greatest novel? His young editor is left racing to find the missing manuscript before a rogue’s gallery of opportunists can exploit it for their own devious purposes. This engaging look into the world of publishing and literature is intriguingly suspenseful, outrageously humorous, and universally accessible.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Publisher
Winner of the 2003 Faulkner Society of New Orleans Award
About the Author
Kurtis Davidson is the pen name of Kurt Jose Ayau and David Rachels; they teach at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. Ayau is author of the novel Nana's House. Rachels is editor of Augustus Baldwin Longstreet's Georgia Scenes Completed: A Scholarly Text.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
the best of the book that you buy,
By
This review is from: What The Shadow Told Me (Paperback)
I've been reading bits of this novel for months, passed around like samizdat on the Internet & through email -- it's funny as hell. Great to see it's found a home -- buy it!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best I've read for a long, long time!,
By
This review is from: What The Shadow Told Me (Paperback)
Decidedly unusual and refreshing. The development of characters is fascinating; it's full of things to make you smile and things to make you think. You may think you have figured out what the ending will be, but this is also full of surprises. I thoroughly enjoyed it ... enough to order two more copies to send to friends. Bravo to the authors -- and encore!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Team KD Rocks the Literary World,
By
This review is from: What The Shadow Told Me (Paperback)
This is an excerpt from the review that appeared in Greensboro News & Record:
This is a novel that relies on action and dialogue, and races forward because of it. Team KD has packed the pages with colorful characters, satire that could slash a set of SUV tires, and heaps of absurdity that I gobbled down with nary a question. The centerpiece of this novel is Rufus Walter Eddison, fictional writer of his own novel, "Darkness Visible," in 1951, which quickly gathered worldwide critical acclaim. It lodged itself into the literary canon and became a fixture in academia. Gradually, Eddison's debut work was given the unofficial honor of the best novel of the century. And then he never wrote another word. Or, at the least, never let anyone see another word. When he dies early in the story, a cannonball run of sorts explodes in an effort to find the mysterious manuscript Eddison's been promising for decades. Solving the question of its existence and to whom it belongs is a kooky but tightly written ride. Team KD exhibits the wild creativity of Thomas Pynchon (I thought of "Vineland" quite often) in the made-up song lyrics, plays on pop culture, and intricate plot connections of every character-but with less head scratching. Instead of post-modern dilemmas, the satire in this novel is self-directed. Writers, literary agents, creative writing teachers, university administrators, and editors are spared no mercy in the attack. As Kurtis Davidson, Kurt Ayau and David Rachels share a skilled sense of story and a willingness to go for broke, to have fun. "What the Shadow Told Me is as much a thriller as it is a farce. It could make great cinema but at this time makes for an excellent read.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
When Malcolm Day, senior editor at Sampson and Sons, Ltd., called Justina Patterson at home on a Sunday morning to tell her that Rufus Walter Eddison had asked for a visit char afternoon from his editor, Justina dared to think might mean, at last, the publication of Eddison's second novel. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
pussy tastes better, foot wizard, manuscript box Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Maisy May, Rufus Walter Eddison, Edith Lee-Frasier, Maisv May, New York, Timm Clifton, Funky Franks, Sam Sampson, Henry David Monroe, Malcolm Day, Santa Claus, Biminim Strimpoonanamam, Grover Chaff, Holler Franks, Mason Hartwood, Santa's Bastards, Rwanda Evilsizer, Joe Steele, Mary Jane, Robert Tharp, Come the Negroes, Baby Bomber, Bruno Ciafaldi, Kenneth Virgil, Harold Bloom New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
When Malcolm Day, senior editor at Sampson and Sons, Ltd., called Justina Patterson at home on a Sunday morning to tell her that Rufus Walter Eddison had asked for a visit char afternoon from his editor, Justina dared to think might mean, at last, the publication of Eddison's second novel. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
pussy tastes better, foot wizard, manuscript box Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Maisy May, Rufus Walter Eddison, Edith Lee-Frasier, Maisv May, New York, Timm Clifton, Funky Franks, Sam Sampson, Henry David Monroe, Malcolm Day, Santa Claus, Biminim Strimpoonanamam, Grover Chaff, Holler Franks, Mason Hartwood, Santa's Bastards, Rwanda Evilsizer, Joe Steele, Mary Jane, Robert Tharp, Come the Negroes, Baby Bomber, Bruno Ciafaldi, Kenneth Virgil, Harold Bloom New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 8
books:
See all 8 books this book cites
- Native Son by Richard A. Wright on page 165
- Paradise Lost (Penguin Classics) by John Milton on page 245
- New York Giants by Julian May on page 34
- The Color Purple by Alice Walker on page 165
- Santa Claus by Rod Green on page 165
See all 8 books this book cites
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
