Who's Who in Hell: A Novel [Paperback]

Robert Chalmers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 12, 2002

Who's Who in Hell is a compelling, uproarious, and achingly moving story about what happens when our plans for life meet its plans for us. Written with a keen eye and enormous heart that call to mind David Schickler, Nick Hornby, and early Roddy Doyle, Who's Who in Hell is a novel with a voice all its own. Daniel Linnell is a charming, rather hapless young man until he meets Laura -- an unsettlingly feisty American who likes to parachute out of planes on weekends. Recently fired from a job as a relatively unskilled counselor for London's desperate, he meets Laura one night in a bar and quickly finds himself falling for her. At the same time, he finds a new job as an obituarist and is caught up in the day-to-day life of the oddballs who produce a major London daily newspaper. His editor, Whittington, a dyed-in-the-wool English eccentric, initiates him into the pecking order of obituarists vs. news reporters vs. the sports desk; the annual ritual of the drunken Obituaries Outing with all of the octogenarian history buffs who provide their research; and the secret cache of unexpurgated obits of the less-than-angelic, obits that will never see print -- which Whittington keeps in a hollowed-out book in his office. With Whittington's encouragement, Daniel begins to write a Who's Who in Hell -- a mammoth compendium of the evil and damned. Begun for his own amusement, the book takes on a momentum of its own and garners him a publisher's advance. He goes to Kansas to meet Laura's parents. Things are all going beautifully. But it's always then that things have a way of changing. Who's Who in Hell is a delightfully antic, deeply moving novel that captures the joys and agonies of love and the perverse deceptions and unanticipated highs and lows of life. It is sure to establish Robert Chalmers as one of the brightest young writers out of Britain.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Chalmers's debut novel explores that territory to which Nick Hornby has so expertly laid claim: the feckless man who has reached the fateful dividing point between the slacker lifestyle of the 20s and the bourgeois comforts that beckon in the 30s. Londoner Daniel Linnell is on the verge of losing his job with Resolve, a counseling center where he mans the pay-per-minute therapy hot lines. Into his life comes Laura Jardine, an expatriate American who manages a hipster pub. Laura defines herself by her hobbies: taking pictures of dogs and parachuting, the latter a little too obviously portentous of disaster to come. After Daniel receives the boot from the institute, he eventually finds his true niche as an incredibly well-remunerated obituarist for a London paper (in a country where obituaries are a sort of literary extreme sport). Essentially, Daniel's job is to compose farewells that hint at the vices and inadequacies of the dearly departed. Inspired by his job, Daniel begins work on an obituary almanac of the more notorious inhabitants of hell. Meanwhile, he and Laura surmount, with some mutual angst, Lauras penchant for infidelity, visit Laura's boorish Kansas family and produce a child. Chalmers can be witty, but he lacks Hornby's light touch; there is too much exegesis per joke and scenes run on longer than they need to. Still, there are some inspired moments, and he tackles family tragedy with more assurance than he handles comedy, the book's dark denouement offers a strong finish.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

This first novel by a young British writer is sure to invite comparisons with Nick Hornby's work. Because the novel is so layered with idiosyncratic anecdotes--the lead character is an obituary writer, his girlfriend is a skydiver--it is not as accessible as Hornby's best-sellers. What Chalmers does share with the author of High Fidelity (1995), however, is the ability to tell a hip, passionate love story without a shred of sentimentality. When Londoner Daniel Linnell meets American barkeep Laura Jardine, she goes "off in his life like a bomb." Daniel is initially intimidated by the fact that she has slept with so many men and, although they are at once inseparable, he is haunted by the fear that she will be unfaithful. He falls into a cushy, high-paying job as an obituarist working for a brilliant, deeply eccentric editor; he visits Laura's welcoming, unpretentious hometown in Kansas; and he and Laura eventually have a child. Witty, very well written (the obituaries themselves are gems), and delightfully unpredictable, this is an impressive debut by a writer to watch. Joanne Wilkinson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press (August 12, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802139248
• ISBN-13: 978-0802139245
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,543,142 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Heaven and Hell, August 29, 2002

By 

Nick Hays (Bathurst, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who's Who in Hell: A Novel (Paperback)

Sorry about the corny title, but I had to think of something.
I was given this book on my birthday and pretty much read it straight away. I was really intrigued by the title and the premise. I must say it took me a while to get into it, but after a while I could not stop reading Who's Who, until I finished it in one go.
I really wanted the actual compiling of Daniel's book to extend further into the novel, but that's not what it is really about. The relationship between Daniel and Laura is really the crux of the story. At times I was getting (annoyed) with it, but by the end I was hooked. Obviously I will not say what happens, needless to say I had no idea and could not stop telling people about it afterwards.
I have read a lot of books recently, very glutinous, but this one stood out becuase of the range of emotions that it produces. The final scene is amazing, I wish I could publish it here, but that would wreck the ending to a bloody brilliant novel.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Will be watching for more from this author, February 24, 2008

By 

Mary Fuller "Maustinfuller" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who's Who in Hell: A Novel (Paperback)

I rarely finish books. It's not a trait I'm proud of. But I'm 19/20ths of the way through this novel and will be looking for more from Robert Chalmers. While the plot ambles a bit, almost to the point that you wonder if there is a real plot at all, I think it reflects the circuitous life path of its major character well. The author writes with wit and economy that I appreciate, and achieves occasional breathtaking moments of beauty or brutality that enter into all our lives, no matter how unextraordinary they may seem to strangers. I really enjoyed this book, and I look forward to reading more as Chalmers grows as a storyteller.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hit and Miss, August 1, 2005

By 

George Mitchell (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who's Who in Hell: A Novel (Paperback)

Robert Chalmers puts a unique spin on the boy meets girl love story. The plot is less disconnected than it initially appears because the reader doesn't understand the unifying theme until relatively late in the book. The title also proves to be a bit of a red herring. This could lead you, like some of the negative reviewers, to become frustrated with the story.

But to leave it at that is a disservice to a fine piece of writing. Chalmers' clear strength is relating the emotional highs and lows of the main character, Daniel. There are several points during the story in which you feel intimately connected to Daniel.

The story spans several years the life of Daniel Linnel, a heavy drinking late-20's Brit. As his career shifts from amateur therapist to obituarist, he meets Laura, with whom he instantly falls in love. The rest of the story follows the couple's ups and downs and the resulting emotional rollercoaster ride Daniel takes.

Chalmers also succeeds in building strong characters outside of Daniel and Laura. One feels a particular bond with Whittington, Daniel's salty boss and Paul, Laura's estranged brother. On the other hand, one feels particular disdain for Kate, Laura's best friend and Mr. Jardine, Laura's father.

The attempts at comedy are largely successful, with a few duds thrown in. But sometimes we get the sense that he's trying a little too hard to concoct a funny antecdote.

The ending takes a rather dramatic and unpredictable turn, but it plays towards Chalmers' strengths successfully. A good measure of a successful novel is the strength of emotional response it elicits. This book will make you emotional.