The Misadventures of Oliver Booth: Life in the Lap of Luxury (Paperback)

~ David Desmond (Author)
Key Phrases: Van Buren, Palm Beach, Worth Avenue (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"High society is rarely what it's cracked up to be, but that doesn't stop some people. The Misadventures of Oliver Booth: Life in the Lap of Luxury tells of the titular character's overwhelming desire to live the good life, the life of the filthy rich. Opportunity presents itself and there are no lengths Oliver won't go to mount himself among the most elite in the world. Hilarious and biting satire, The Misadventures of Oliver Booth is riveting and recommended reading." --Midwest Book Review

Product Description

Next Generation Indie Book Award Winner (General Fiction/Novel & First Novel) Third Place Grand Prize (Fiction)

Best Book Award Winner (Best New Fiction)

Finalist, 2009 Benjamin Franklin Awards, Humor/Comedy/Satire category

Eric Hoffer Award Finalist (da Vinci Eye)

National Indie Excellence Award Finalist (Humor)

New York Book Festival Honorable Mention (Fiction)

Oliver Booth wants nothing more than to join the ranks of Palm Beach's high society. But with his arrogant personality, garish wardrobe, and incompetent stewardship of an antique shop filled with gaudy reproductions, he doesn't have a chance. Oliver's luck takes a turnabout when the society doyenne Margaret Van Buren sends him and his assistant, Bernard, to Paris on a shopping spree to furnish her new estate. What ensues is a series of hilarious, Voltaire-esque misadventures as Oliver bumbles his way through the milieu of the elite. A satirical look at the lengths some people will go to in order to enter the insular circle of the privileged, David's Desmond's novel is a witty glimpse into a world few of us know.

Praise for The Misadventures of Oliver Booth:

'David Desmond has written a hilarious tale based on his insider's knowledge of life in Palm Beach and Paris. It should be a big success.' --Donald Trump

'Can we talk? The Misadventures of Oliver Booth is filled with intimate details about the you-know-whos doing you-know-what in Palm Beach and Paris. You're going to love it! It's a fast and fun read.' --Joan Rivers

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group; First Edition edition (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929774567
• ISBN-13: 978-1929774562
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #491,181 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars An all out RAT RACE! Not my cup 'o tea., March 25, 2009

By	Bethany L. Canfield "B&b ex libris" (Corvallis, OR,USA.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Oliver Booth craves wealth, acknowledgment and prestige yet he goes about it in all the wrong ways. The more he scams and tries to pry up into the world that he admires the more it detests him and his slyness. He is the arrogant owner of a supposedly high-quality shop filled with "hecho en Mexico" reproductions. His luck goes from bad to worse when one of the bigshots- Margaret Van Buren sends him and his new assistant to France to purchase some furniture for her guest house. Booth's arrogance even when he has no clue of the language, culture or area get him into even bigger trouble. All his problems are not without the meddling of his assistant, who more than anyone would like to see him fail.

Oliver Booth is not a character with good qualities, and then when his assistant enters the scene I had high hopes for him. Once I saw that his only intent was getting whatever he could claw away from Booth in order to impress their boss Mrs. Van Buren I lost hope. I need at least one person in the book to look at and admire, this one was just a rat race. As much as I know that is probably more realistic, this didn't do it for me. I was expecting more depth than this gave, more depth of character, more depth of something and it was not there.

In parts it was funny, but soon bashing on Oliver Booth's weight wasn't humorous anymore. I started to feel worse for him because it seemed that everyone wanted to tear him down. It distressed me more than made me laugh. I understand that he got what was coming, but it was too much to watch. Not my cup 'o tea.

For all my reviews go to B&b ex libris: http://exlibrisbb.blogspot.com

4.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious laugh out loud read, January 24, 2009

By	Terry South "Quality Book Reviews" (Maryville, TN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Mr Oliver booth runs an antique shop in Palm Beach. His antiques consist of "Authentic Mexican Reproductions", you know the cheesy gilded flea market finds. Mr Booth feels he has exquisite taste in antiques and those that question his tastes are themselves somewhat beneath him. As Mr booth attempts to become a designer to the society / wealthy of Palm Beach he finds himself the "cartoon" for their local newspaper. His antics are hilarious. Mr Booth finds himself in jail in Paris, and forced to take a psychological exam before he is allowed to leave the country. It is sad and also hard to believe but people like Mr Booth actually do exist.
This book is full of laughs and is a very good read.

3.0 out of 5 stars A satirical look at high society, January 8, 2009

By	BermudaOnion (South Carolina) - See all my reviews

Oliver Booth imagines himself to be much more sophisticated than he actually is. He owns an "antique" shop off of Worth Avenue in Palm Beach. He hires Bernard Dauphin to be his assistant in the shop. One day, Palm Beach's wealthiest society matron, Margaret Van Buren, comes in with her grandson who needs to use the restroom. She purchases the one good piece of furniture in the shop, which had been purchased by Bernard at an estate sale.

Pleased with her purchase, Mrs. Van Buren sends Oliver and Bernard to the Marché aux Puces in Paris to purchase furnishings for her guest house. Everything Oliver does on the trip backfires on him and he ends up in court, so Bernard does the shopping on his own.

Things become more complicated when they return to Palm Beach and Mrs. Van Buren discovers that Oliver is trying to swindle her and other members of the community. She comes up with a plan to put Oliver in his place.

The Misadventures of Oliver Booth by David Desmond satires high society. I think this sentence says a lot - "It's all about image and status and trying too hard to impress people who have so much money that they really can't be impressed." I found the book to be a good (not great), light read. It was enjoyable, even though it is predictable and somewhat silly at times. It was a good book to read during the holidays since there weren't many characters - it was easy to keep up with what was going on even though I was only able to read it in short spurts. David Desmond is Donald Trump's nephew and is currently working on another Oliver Booth book.