Who's Killing the Great Writers of America?: A Satire

I spotted this gem at the local library (bless those astute librarians who displayed it prominently), and had not read Kaplow before. But I love satire, and was hooked from the first sentence. I'm sure the authors who "appeared" as characters laughed harder than any reader. Kaplow is a master at recreating the inner ramblings of all writers and also wannabe writers(I'm one)who never actually write the novel in their heads. He nailed every facet of the publishing world, extending to media, teachers and others. I taught high school English for a while in the 70s,and I'd forgotten all about "transformational grammar" and Noam Chomsky till I read this book. I"m sorry for those who didn't love it and probably didn't even "get" most of it. You almost have to be an English Major or at least have taken some literature and creative writing courses, and you'd have to be familar with all the genres referenced as well as the dozens and dozens of famous novels and writers mentioned to get the jokes. Kaplow's choices of "characters" had to fit the story line exactly for it all to work. Stephen King, the undisputed master of horror, is the perfect protagonist. I won't go further, and be a spoiler, but the irony of the last several chapters is delicious. And there really is a mystery. I got a little tired of the "f" word and the outrageously kinky sex both real and imagined, but must admit the sex (and yes, Sue Grafton's excessive diarrhea) was all there for a reason. The poignant ending celebrating true, unkinky love was all the more so when juxtaposed against the yucky stuff. I suspect there is a special "satire appreciation" gene, and some of us have it and some of us don't. But it's not a big deal. By the way, I'm 76. The older I get, the funnier we humans seem. I'm going to read this book again and again, and give it to carefully selected friends.

This parody by Robert Kaplow is quite simply hilarious. I'm buying it as a gift for every SMART FUNNY person I know (but not the dumb boring ones.) A great idea all-around and executed flawlessly by Kaplow. My only request: More, more, more!

OKAY, when I got this review copy I was not thrilled. A parody is fair humor at best. I disliked the last audio production done of a Robert Kaplow novel. WELL I WAS WRONG! (hanging my head in shame). I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes. It pokes satirical fun at the mystery genre and its authors as the world in general. Who knew Kaplow's unabridged text was so funny? I KNOW NOW! Kaplow work hear can be compared to Weird Al of modern day mystery genre. Whereas Al points out the world in his parodies. So does Kaplow and the interesting thing about it, you love the gossip tone of this novel. The text seems like Entertainment Tonight with a laugh track for the lit set. And you owe the wonderful audio experience to craftsmanship and vocal talents of Arte Johnson. Yes, this is the same Arte Johnson from Laugh-in Fame. As a narrator, He can do narrative magic with his voice that you assume there are a cast of thousands in the booth. If you dont laugh at his narration antics, have your doctor check to see if your funny bone is still working. There is every style of comedy employed in the project....and if a slip on a banana peel or a slapstick gag could be done on audio, i bet it would be thrown into this production To try to explain this multi dirrectional plot is a waste of your time, because you need to expierence this outragous farce first hand without any help. It is a five star winner! All I will say is clear your schedules, once you start this humor fest, you wont want to stop listening until the end of the last CD. Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD

I picked up an advance copy of this novel at the BEA last week in New York, and I've been reading parts outloud to my friends. It's hilarious, it's outrageous, it's beautifully written, and, in the end, it's even strangely poignant. The novel is very hard to describe as it's part farce, part mystery, part adventure, and part romance. Let's just say that Kaplow has managed to do something that Anthony Shaffer managed to do in SLEUTH, which is to parody a mystery while at the same writing a first-rate one. But what kicks this book into infectious overdrive is Kaplow's ferociously inventive imagination which has a wonderfully surreal touch to it. By the time this book's done, we've revisited THE PRISONER and THE MIRACLE WORKER and Truffaut's version of FAHRENHEIT 451 and James Joyce's THE DEAD. Everything is ripe for parody, and Kaplow pulls it off with great style and relentless energy. There's love; there are celebrities; there's even a monster! The novel rocks.