Product Description

Despite a severe case of writer's block, Cal Cunningham dreams of writing an autobiographical novel that will help him escape from his life as a penniless bookstore stockboy in upper Manhattan. Cal's dream are threatened when he learns that his law student roommate harbours literary ambitions of his own. After two years of living together, Stewart has finished writing a page-turning novel - based on Cal's life. When a timely, fatal bicycle accident removes Stewart from the scene, Cal appropriates the manuscript as his own and places it in the hands of the legendarily ferocious literary agent Blackie Yeager. Soon Cal realises his most outlandish fantasies of literary success. That is, until he discovers that someone knows his secret. For Cal, this means plotting not just his second novel, but also his first murder.

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #499318 in Books
• Published on: 2001-08-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
John Colapinto's About the Author is a wicked thriller set in the ferocious world of publishing and a burning satire on what it takes to make a bestseller. Narrator, wannabe writer and stockboy Cal Cunningham has written nothing since he arrived in New York but he has relentlessly regaled his reclusive flatmate with his sexual conquests. When he discovers his roommate's finished manuscript,

a virtual transcription of the monologues with which [he] had entertained Stewart during the two and a half years of [their] roommatehood. It was all there. All of it. Not just the "Dispatches from Downtown" with their ribald tales of romantic conquest and alcohol abuse, but the truly precious stuff, the irreplaceable personal lode of [his] childhood memories, with all their pain and yearning and loss,

he justifies his subsequent plagiarism. By the end of Colapinto's novel, we are left with a dead flatmate, a half-murdered blackmailer, a deceased phoney cop, a drug deal on the Canadian border and a lot of close calls--all for the sake of Art.

About the Author starts off promisingly with its mellifluous, loquacious first-person narrative and its challenging moral premise, making this a real page-turner. Unfortunately, it loses steam halfway through as our narrator/anti-hero moves from the potentially explosive possibilities of New York City to the safe little hamlet of New Halcyon and the perfect life with the even more perfect wife. What could have been an inflammatory satire on the fiery world of publishing (Cal's agent Blackie Yaeger is a wonderfully drawn caricature but, disappointingly, never developed to his full Faustian potential) abruptly loses its sizzle. Nonetheless, it's worth reading Colapinto's assured first foray into Fiction, as he's sure to be a talent you'll hear from again, especially with the film rights to his novel already sold. An interesting case of life imitating art perhaps!

Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone Journalist Colapinto's first book was the bestselling non-fiction title As Nature Made Him. --Nicola Perry

Review
"A thriller worthy of Hitchcock at his best. I wasn't able to put it down. Splendid suspense." Stephen King

Cal Cunningham is a stockroom boy and would-be novelist, sharing a tiny flat in New York with conscientious law student Stewart Church. Hampered by writer's block, Cal embarks on a series of one-night stands to give him some inspiration. Unfortunately this does not do the trick, and he remains as unproductive as ever. Stewart dies in a traffic accident on the day that Cal discovers that his flatmate has written his own novel, based on Cal's nocturnal adventures. Our hero decides to publish the work under his own name, reasoning that it is 'his' story, after all. The book is a huge success, film deals are signed, and Cal becomes very rich and famous...The End. Well, it may have ended there if it were not for the two other copies of the manuscript: one having been posted to Stewart's ex-girlfriend; the other stored on his laptop, stolen before his death by one of Cal's conquests. As Cal attempts to retrieve the copies, his newly idyllic lifestyle begins to unravel, and he is taught some strong lessons about plagiarism. As the paranoia intensifies, this could all have become very silly. However, the first person narrative style works well to keep things in check. It is clear that Cal is even more disbelieving of the nightmarish events that befall him than the most sceptical of readers. Despite his constant self-justification, plagiarism seems to infect every aspect of his existence. He does not just steal Stewart's novel, but the life he may have had, were it not for the accident, right down to marrying the unfortunate man's ex-girlfriend. At his lowest point, he even co-opts the murder plot from a Hitchcock film for his own desperate purposes. This is a breeze of a read; a funny, enjoyable thriller with an interesting premise, even if the ending reeks of wish-fulfilment. Is it too much to hope, however, that authors will stop telling their readers that they know something is a cliche, before repeating it anyway with no attempt to subvert it, or freshen it up? (Kirkus UK)

A young New York writer (no-keep reading: it's actually good) capitalizes on the talent of his late roommate and hits it big. For a while. Such laughs as there are in this dark, deft comedy are nervous and sweaty, but the tension is the real thing in a smart literary thriller by the author of "As Nature Made Him "(nonfiction: 2000). Cal Cunningham, disowned for his authorial ambition by his physician father, dreams of pleasing his late book-loving mother with a literary career. But the clock has been ticking for years, and Cal's closest approach to the world of letters is a bookstore job that barely supports his after-hours debauchery. The only story-spinning on his schedule is the regular debriefing requested by Cal's nerdy flatmate Stewart Church, a near-monastic legal student who wants to hear all the details of Cal's dalliances in the fleshpots of Manhattan. Stewart's tolerance is tested when, after a night of gymnastic sex, one of Cal's sleazier conquests makes off with fenceable items from the flat, including Stewart's laptop. And Cal's tolerance is "really "tested when he learns that Stewart has been filling his nonlegal moments writing. Beautifully. Not only a flawlessly publishable short story, but a spectacularly good novel based entirely on all those anecdotes from the life of his wastrel roommate. The fates choose to have Stewart run over on his bicycle, and Cal, stepping in, instantly claims the book for his own. And it's a hit. A Hollywood contract leads to a huge sum and indirectly to a meeting with the only other person who might know about the real authorship, Stewart's beautiful, intelligent, totally wonderful ex-girlfriend. But that laptop the little popsy picked up in chapter one? It's back, still loaded with Stewart's original novel, and still in the clutches of the evil bit of crumpet. Cal's totally wonderful new life begins to unravel faster than you can turn the pages. The ending limps, but only after a sensational run. (Kirkus Reviews)

Amanda craig, SUNDAY TIMES, 15 July, 2001
. . . not only a devastatingly witty satire on American literary life but also a thriller of which Patricia Highsmith would have been proud.

---

Customer Reviews

Plot twists in wicked tale from new voice in fiction!
Stylishly written, "About the Author" is a cracking debut novel from fresh new voice in fiction, John Colapinto, packed with suspenseful moments and wicked plot twists. The premise is compelling: a struggling, frustrated writer, Cal Cunningham, suffering from chronic writers' block, harbours dreams of writing a novel that will bring widespread critical acclaim - and free him from his mundane existence stacking books in a bookstore. Sharing his cheap Manhattan apartment is his less than outgoing roommate, law student Stewart (forever clacking away on his old Underwood following the theft of his laptop) who devours Cal's anecdotes about his latest sexual adventures.

Secretly raking through Stewart's files, Cal finds a superb manuscript of a novel, "Almost like Suicide", that he is horrified to discover is based on his own sexual exploits, unwittingly recounted to the attentive Stewart. Coincidentally, at this time, Stewart is accidentally killed while out on his bike. Feeling cheated that Stewart has hijacked his own private and personal experiences for use in the novel, Cal misappropriates his dead roommate's manuscript, submitting it to top literary agent, Blackie Yaeger as his own work. Cal rationalises his criminal actions, convincing himself that since it is his life, his experiences being described in the manuscript, he is, though not strictly speaking the author, entitled to claim the book as his own.

"Almost like Suicide" proves to be a sensation, taking the literary world by storm. Instant literary acclaim, fame, fortune, book tours follow, launching Cal into the world of television talk shows and movie deals, living out a destiny that was rightfully Stewart's had he lived. The shadow of the dead Stewart looms over Cal who again finds himself walking in a dead man's shoes when he contrives to meet (and falls for) his dead roommate's ex-girlfriend. But ... there's always a price tag! Is Cal about to reap his comeuppance, the bubble he's been living in about to burst? The roller coaster ride that catapulted him to fame and fortune is about to turn upside down and plunge him on a downward spiral into a world of blackmail and murder. Another thriller with a "finders-keepers" plotline you may enjoy is "A Simple Plan" by Scott Smith.

"PAGE-TURNER OF THE YEAR" FOR ME
When I heard about this book, I assumed it was another non-fiction book by Colapinto. The title alone is suggestive of a non-fiction work. Well, it certainly isn't in that genre. It's a psychological thriller of the very best kind...not a dark thriller but more of a light one. It's like a roller coaster ride -- a trip to hell and back. Colapinto has managed to take all of my favorite book elements and combine them in one story. I couldn't put it down trying to figure out just what would happen next.

The premise is great. Cal Cunningham is a struggling writer who has hopes of one day penning a great novel. It's no surprise that he hasn't been successful since, for the past two years, he hasn't written a thing...not one page. He thinks about it all the time, and imagines himself as a best-selling author, but hasn't been motivated yet to put that pen to page.

He spends his days at his job stacking books in a local bookstore. At nights, he spends his time carousing with loose women in tawdry bars. He shares a cramped NYC apartment with his roommate Stewart Church, a law school student. Stewart is such a bore and spends most of his time typing away on his laptop in the seclusion of his bedroom. When he comes up for air on the weekends, Cal regales him with stories of his ventures into the wild nightlife of New York. Stewart hangs on every word...and that's all I'm going to tell you. What happens next is unbelievable. One little event, one little decision made, one little lapse in judgment will put Cal on the ride of his life. Unfortunately, he might not be able to jump off when he wants to.

This is the story of how Cal Cunningham becomes a best-selling author. It's by far the page-turner of the year for me reminiscent of other favorite page-turners like Scott Smith's A Simple Plan and Douglas Kennedy's The Big Picture. I can't say enough about this book other than "READ IT." I found out something "about the author" John Colapinto - not only is he terrific but he's also found a new fan in this reader.

Enjoyable read from cover to cover
This was a great find and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed reading it. Not only was it an easy read but it flowed and I found the pages flying by. I was expecting a thriller but it was quite a gentle thriller that built up over time. First person narrative is sometimes hard to focus on, it all depends on the style of narration but because I didn't feel as a reader we were meant to warm to Cal Cunningham; I felt it was a good choice in a Bret Easton Ellis sort of way.

The story is about Cal, who is a penniless bookstore clerk in Manhattan. Having dreamt about writing his own book it looks like the chance to be in print has landed in his lap. His flatmate of two years, Stuart, has died in an accident and also had his own literary aspirations. What will Cal do with what he finds? Cal's decision leads him into a rollercoaster ride of deceit and blackmail.

It's a superb fiction debut, culminating in an interesting turn of events. The characters are well-written resulting in being able to visualise with them. There is one part in the novel that I found frustrating and it is a journey taken on the river. I could see its place but it just didn't seem as well thought out as the rest of the novel. Having said this, he is still an author I'd happily recommend for his fiction.