Walk of Fame

To buy or not to buy? -- or to borrow from the library? Buy this one. Hilarious and poignant, it's one of the best reads I've ever had. Ever. Average-guy, history buff, overweight financial writer Tom Webster, who bills himself as Tom The Okay (as compared to his heroes Alexander the Great and William the Conqueror) is about to get a taste of celebrity. "The Vulture," a pop-culture magazine, assigns him to concoct a scheme -- any scheme -- so fabulous that it will gain him instant fame. His mission: keep the scam a secret from everyone and keenly observe the ways his new-found celebrity status changes the way he's treated by everyone from his best friend to his doorman and all the hangers-on in between. Tom does put together a fantastic scheme. He becomes obscenely famous. The reactions of those around him are positively delicious. Especially satisfying are the stunned responses of his ex-wife and of his best friend (who also happens to be the ex-wife's new squeeze). Krum is a wonderful suck-you-in writer and the reader shares Tom's marvelous adventure in full. Krum also has a magnificent sense of humor and the pages positively rollick. Warning: don't pick it up on a night you hope to get to sleep early. Tom doesn't escape fame's hell -- the Tabloid ambushes in the men's room, the sordid rumors of wrongdoing, the foisting of designer clothing freebies that make him look like "the love child of Keith Richards and Queen Victoria." Despite the fantastic happenings, the book always rings true. A most satisfying read that leaves you with astute observations of a culture gone celebrity mad. I can't wait for Krum's next book.

Once I got started, I found I was reading and reading and reading. Something very rare for me!! I haven't gone through a book so quickly since reading James Clavell many years ago with something as funny as Tom Sharpe!!! I wish I could be Tom Webster!Although written by a woman, it is not apparent in the reading. She seems to get into the male psyche very well. Like any book you enjoy, you just don't want it to end. What happens next???It's just a lot of fun to read, what more can I say!!

If Bridget Jones could only meet Tom Webster, the main character of WALK OF FAME, she'd be writing Bridget Jones Webster's Diary! Tom Webster is the man Bridget and every other single woman is looking for. And he is looking for you! His search ultimately takes him on the rollercoaster ride of his life to fame and riches. This first novel is a hilarious, delicious, roman a clef that is destined to be the Beach Read of 2001! Some might think I'm a bit biased being Ms. Krum's literary agent but after the book was a bestseller when first published in Australia last year and a critical hit in the UK this year, with foreign editions coming out all over the world and Harold Ramis producing the film version with Tony Goldwyn (A WALK ON THE MOON, SOMEONE LIKE YOU) directing the picture for Twentieth Century Fox, production to start next Fall, I think the verdict is in -- WALK OF FAME is absolutley fabulous! Sharom Krum writes so convincingly in a man's voice that many publishers and filmmakers thought she was a man when I first presented the book. Only after I showed her beautiful photograph did people believe that this young talented woman could capture so authentically the voice of Tom Webster. WALK OF FAME is a witty and wise cautionary tale about what happens to a nobody who becomes a somebody overnight. With a sharp eye and keen sense of our contemporary , zany, preposterous obsession with fame, Krum creates a character who we can root for and adore. Plus it's really fun to read from a true expert (Krum is a celebrity journalist)what goes on behind the scenes. WALK OF FAME is a how-to book about getting famous. If you loved BRIDGET JONES DIARY, HIGH FIDELITY, PRIMARY COLORS -- then you'll love WALK OF FAME.