The Ringer (Hardcover)

by Bill Scheft (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
There is rarely even a snicker is this supposedly comic first novel by a monologue writer for David Letterman. And therein lies the problem: stand-up comedy material can sound good when delivered by a professional, while that same material on the page of a novel will appear forced and lifeless. Harvey "College Boy" Sussman is the ringer of the title; he is a 35-year-old goof who gets paid to play softball for a dozen or so teams in and around New York City. As College Boy's athletic prowess diminishes and his fondness for prescription drugs increases, he has no clue what he will do after softball, though he also has a gig as a professional laugher on a call-in radio show. Morton Martin Spell is his uncle, a long-retired magazine writer who, as the story opens, is rushed to the hospital suffering the effects of a long relationship with vodka and Valium. There is something smarmy about the narration of the irrational ramblings of this old man zonked out on drugs (and as if that isn't enough, he is saddled with prostate problems, Parkinson's disease and serious overmedication by incompetent doctors), which take up most of the novel and are decidedly not funny. Scheft also introduces a whore with a heart of gold; a petty gangster, the Dirt King, who controls all dirt movement in Central Park; and a loud, obnoxious radio talk-show host. These New York extras are well conceived, but even they can't keep Scheft's tale from falling flat.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review
"A moving story about love between wounded souls that will linger in the mind far longer than the laughs." -- Bruce McCall

"Bill Scheft's novel produces the kind of explosive laughs that can create an unsanitary condition." -- Jeffrey Toobin

"Has to be the summer's funniest novel....Fast moving fiction at its swiftest." -- Trenton NJ Times

"If you don't enjoy this book, there is something wrong with you." -- Dave Letterman

"Scheft keeps the material coming at machine-gun pace....the jokes are plentiful and very high in quality." -- New York Times Book Review

Damn funny, and ultimately moving. Four stars. -- Maxim

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st ed edition (July 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060090529
• ISBN-13: 978-0060090524
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,365,027 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars How did this junk get published?, November 25, 2002

By A Customer

First, let me answer my own question--he wrote for David Letterman and Letterman endorses the book on its cover which guarantees at least some sales. What it doesn't guarantee is that the book is well written, funny, or the least bit entertaining. It isn't even marginally any of these things. The Ringer is a few one liners pieced together into a novel consisting of poorly conceived, completely unrealistic, exaggerated characters with nothing interesting to say. "College Boy" carrying around "Bagzilla" avoiding conflict with "the Dirt King" while "Uncle Mort" plays golf in the hospital. Ridiculous, unfunny drivel that amounts to a torturous, unfunny read.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tremendously funny, July 22, 2002

By A Customer

Great read for anyone who a) enjoys biting humor and/or b) still has the itch to be a jock. Once you get to know these characters, you don't want them to go away. Tough book to put down.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Publishers Weekly has it right, August 26, 2003

By	birdmanct (West Hartford, CT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ringer: A Novel (Paperback)

A stinker of a book, I finished it only because of the many favorable reviews on this site. I laughed 2 or 3 times in 256 pages, or for you mathematicians, 0.01 laughs per page. It has no character development, a weak, boring, and confused plot, unauthentic and uninteresting dialogue, and countless unfunny one-liners. Over-all, it is a downer like the Valium the protagonist is addicted to. Scheft wrote that Letterman made him much funnier than he made Letterman, and if you bother to read this book you'll agree with him in spades.