THE THIEVES OF MANHATTAN by Adam Langer
Publisher Spiegel & Grau, July 2010
Adam Langer, the wickedly funny
author of the novels Crossing California, The Washington Story, and
Ellington Boulevard, has written a book that is at once a comical literary
caper, an exploration of authenticity and fakery, and a tribute to books.
THE THIEVES OF MANHATTAN is a novel that examines the lengths some writers
will go to succeed.
Aspiring writer, penniless barista, and self-described sullen mope, Ian
Minot is perturbed by the literary success of his Romanian girlfriend. His
annoyance turns to rage as he sees what he believes to be a fabricated
memoir by two-bit thug and music business hanger-on, Blade Markham, shoot to
the top of the bestseller list. Ian proves to be an easy mark for Jed Roth,
a suave book editor with an ingenious and nefarious plan: if Ian revises a
thriller Jed wrote years ago and gets it published as his own memoir,
they’ll both have a platform from which to humiliate Blade Markham’s agent
and publisher and Ian will finally be able to find a publisher for his own
short fiction.
As Ian rewrites and shops around his “memoir,” he finds himself facing a
myriad of challenges, adversaries, and curiosities (on the page and off),
including a hooligan librarian, a foul-mouthed manuscript appraiser, a
members-only library and a priceless copy of the world’s first novel. As his
elaborate hoax progresses, Ian finds himself wrapped up in the hypocrisies
of a culture that values success above all and realizes the ways in which
fact and fiction are inexorably intertwined. With cameos by real-life
denizens of the publishing world and dozens of entertaining literary
references, THE THIEVES OF MANHATTAN is an original, hilarious and
provocative novel.
“Adam Langer’s Thieves of Manhattan is a gleeful addition to the caper
canon, a richly twisted narrative that jauntily skewers the publishing
business with its bizarre assortment of characters. Along its merry way, it
also explores the all important – (and seemingly nonexistent) distinction
between fake memoirs and real novels…”
-- Nicholas Meyer, The Seven Percent Solution
“I loved this book – it’s both laugh-aloud funny and satisfyingly snarky
about the state of publishing these days…a delight to read.”
-- Nancy Pearl, Book Lust
“A page-turning thriller, a lacerating lampoon of the literary life, and a
powerful tribute to the art and craft of fakery. Adam Langer’s caper of con
artists, thug librarians, and fraudulent memoirs moves into that area of
truth to which all writers aspire.”
-- Clifford Irving, The Hoax, The Autobiography of Howard Hughes
“It's a rare literary novel that can stand up to the rigors of 6 hours
sandwiched in coach between a shrieking newborn and a gentleman hacking up
at least one of his lungs. The Thieves of Manhattan, Adam Langer's latest
wise and wonderful romp, did the trick splendidly. So splendidly, in fact,
that I'd recommend it even to those who plan to travel no farther than their
armchairs.”
-- Ayelet Waldman, Bad Mother, Red Hook Road
“Once again the power of memoir takes us to places that fiction dares not
tread. Bold brave worrying work from a wonderful wunderkind!”
-- Laura Albert AKA JT LeRoy
"THE THIEVES OF MANHATTAN is a sly and cutting riff on the book-publishing
world that is quite funny unless you happen to be an author, in which case
the novel will make you consider a more sensible profession -- like being a
rodeo clown, for example, or a crab-fisherman in the Bering Sea."
-- Carl Hiaasen, Flush, The Downhill Lie
"Adam Langer is that rare combination of a writer. He has a sharp eye to
details and explores human relations with keen insight and wry humor, and at
the same time shows profound compassion to our fragile existences and
longings. The Thieves of Manhattan flashes with powerful observations about
the world of publishing and is a triumph on every level, an absorbing story
throbbing with energy and intellect."
-- Elif Shafak, The Bastard of Istanbul, The Forty Rules of Love
