Anonymous Lawyer: A Novel (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: anonymous lawyer, attorney lounge, dumpster side, The Jerk, Anonymous Lawyer Date, Anonymous Niece Date (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Blachman's side-achingly funny debut, derived from his popular blog of the title, is written in the candid, sanctimonious voice of Anonymous Lawyer, an ill-humored, ill-tempered hiring partner at a prestigious New York firm. Anonymous Lawyer is an 18-year man whose compulsion to blog is almost as strong as his desire for the firm's chairmanship. When he's not facing off with his nemesis, The Jerk, in the race for the chair, he takes solace in degrading his summer interns and hapless associates for his quickly developing cult of readers (who e-mail with guesses at his identity). The dirt Anonymous Lawyer dishes is crude, and grounded in his own snobbery and narcissism: his female victims include The One Who's Never Getting Married, The One Who Missed Her Kid's Funeral and The Bombshell (at the annual office charity auction, a date with her went to Lives With His Mom for $6,000). Predictably, potential unmasking makes things sticky for the potential chairman, in what is pretty much the book's single plot point. Written in the rapidly dating blog-form and about as subtle as a punch to the kidneys, the dead-on exaggerations of Blachman, a recent Harvard Law grad, are nonetheless more than enough to propel this debut. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Though the epistolary novel occupies a small but lofty literary niche, the e-mail novel never gained a foothold, and readers are likely to greet "blog novels" with suspicion. Blachman writes a popular satirical blog called Anonymous Lawyer [http://www.anonymouslawyer.blogspot.com], in which his fictitious alter ego, an arrogant hiring partner at a major law firm, explains the cutthroat culture of the legal profession. This is pretty much the same thing: Anonymous is obsessed with becoming chairman, maintaining the firm's rigid hierarchy, and maximizing the billable hours of his overworked associates. He starts a blog on a lark, savages his colleagues, gets discovered, and finds his aspirations endangered. The paper-thin plot would make the book seem like a cheap attempt to cash in on the blog's popularity if it weren't so damn funny. Anonymous is hilariously malevolent (he refers to "winning" friendly conversations), affording readers the thrill of vicariously acting out their darkest impulses while confirming their belief that only lawyers would act so badly. Readers won't remember the story, but they'll quote the best lines. Keir Graff
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (July 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805079815
• ISBN-13: 978-0805079814
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #558,159 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So funny & so true! Must read for law students & anyone else looking for good summer reading., July 25, 2006

By	2L (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This book is really funny & so true!! Blachman captures all of the ridiculous aspects of firm life that my lawyer friends always complain about. As a law student myself, I hope it's not *exactly* like that to work at a firm, but from everything I've heard, Blachman's parody is right on. I can see why he chose to be a writer instead of an attorney! Definitely good summer reading.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything I Expected & More, July 25, 2006

By	J. Maurice - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've been a fan of the anonymous lawyer blog for quite some time now. I picked up this book this morning on my way to work (yes, I've been anticipating the release). I've skimmed through the book and read the first quarter of it so far, and I'm happy to say that Jeremy Blachman appears to have superbly evolved his writing without losing the humorous, engaging technique that has made the Anonymous Lawyer blog such a hit. The satire that seeps through everything in Anonymous Lawyer makes this book a delightful read. The blog format of the book, while it is unconventional, also works well here. Even non-lawyers/law students will enjoy this book!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Serious fun, July 26, 2006

By	Avid Reader (DC) - See all my reviews

I'm not a lawyer, but I know more than a few, and this is the most hilarious take on law firm life I've ever encountered. I haven't laughed this hard since I read Confederacy of Dunces -- which was the last time everyone on the Metro turned to stare at the loud, uncontrollable giggling.