How I Became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely - a Review

When I first picked up How I Became A Famous Novelist, by Steve Hely, I assumed I had picked up the trade paperback edition of a well-reviewed biography. After all, the cover includes a copy of the New York Times Book Review Best Seller list, and the inside is full of seemingly rave reviews of the book. The reality was that I was being sucked in by a spot on skewering of the book industry by Steve Hely, a former writer for the Late Show with David Letterman.

How I Became a Famous Novelist is the story of Pete Tarslaw, a young underachiever who graduated college and now makes his living writing for EssayAides. EssayAides is a shady company that charges prospective college students for turning atrociously written college essays into pure gold. Pete has been down in the dumps ever since being dumped by his girlfriend Polly Pawson. When he receives an e-mail from Polly inviting him to the wedding between her and a sweetheart from Australia, Pete decides to take his revenge on Polly by becoming a best selling author. He'll have lots of money, gorgeous college students wanting to sleep with him everywhere he goes, and beautiful reporters asking him questions about his literary brilliance while he basks on the grounds of his gorgeous estate.

Pete Tarslaw jumps into his task with both feet, analyzing popular novels of the day to decide what elements of each he'll need to create the new lifestyle he imagines himself having. He studies the popular authors (all hilarious send-ups of the authors that currently populate best seller lists), and creates a series of rules to follow for assured best sellerdom. These include:

Must include a murder
Must include a club, secrets / mysterious missions, shy characters, characters whose lives are changed suddenly, surprising love affairs, women who've given up on love but turn out to be beautiful
Novel must have scenes on highways, making driving seem poetic and magical
At dull points include descriptions of delicious meals
Include scenes in as many reader-filled towns as possible
Give readers versions of themselves infused with extra awesomeness

As Pete writes his book, he realizes the whole enterprise is much harder than it seems, but with the help of his lesbian aunt and some experimental medication from his odd roommate, he manages to create his Frankenstein's monster of cliches, The Tornado Ashes Club. In short order he sells the book, and finds himself in a whirlwind of book conventions, lectures, and encounters with best selling authors he has mocked which lead him both starstruck and questioning the ethics behind what he has done. Pete Tarslaw soon finds himself following a sort of VH1 Behind the Music journey from semi-success that is not quite what he imagined, to a rapid downfall that ironically, helps him sell more books.

How I Became A Famous Novelist is a must read for any fan or detractor of today's popular literature. Steve Hely provides masterful parody of several different types of authors working today, even including fake excerpts from their books that are as funny as they are spot-on. The fake New York Times Best Seller list included in the book is so realistic in its titles and descriptions that most viewers would have trouble distinguishing it from the one published this week. The plight of Pete Tarslaw is laugh out loud funny on almost every page and moves at a very brisk pace. But the book also makes you think about your own preconceived notions about what is trash and what is great literature.

How I Became A Famous Novelist is an original and highly enjoyable skewering of the hand of the industry that fed it. It is a must for any avid reader.