The Writer's Guide to Obscurity - John Steinberg - ★★★.¾
AUTHOR: John Steinberg
GENRE: Humour
RATING: 3.75 stars.
In a Nutshell: A novella offering a satirical look at the travails of “publishing’, beginning with the prehistoric age and ending in today’s world of digitised publishing. Quick and entertaining, though suitable only to a niche audience.
Story Synopsis:
Norman has always been born to write. Unknown to him, he comes from a long line of wordsmiths who, right since 4500 BC, have desired to share the thoughts inside of them with the world at large, regardless of other duties such as being a breadwinner, and of course regardless of whether publishing had been invented yet. However, at every stage, there has been something to create hurdles in every Norman’s dream, whether it was the concept of ghost-writing or the interference of literary agents. Modern day Norman, however, seems to have one thing on his side that the other ancient Normans didn’t. What do you think it is?
At 44 pages, this is a very quick novella with a tongue-in-cheek approach towards writing and publishing, right from 4500 BC to date. The approach is somewhat humorous, though one can’t help but sympathise with each Norman for struggling so hard to fulfil his dream of being a successful author. (The key word is ‘successful’.) The final twist is strangely abrupt and yet wholly accurate, as it seems to be the reason behind the success of many modern-day authors. (I still won’t tell you what it is.)
To a certain extent, this novella is almost like a look at the evolution of writing, as it highlights how the art developed from cave paintings to digital publications. Of course, it is all better taken as humour rather than as history, though the historical elements are also accurate. The jokes are quite subtle, almost ironic in style. The writing also has some interesting wordplay, as is a must in a book about writing.
While I liked the book a lot, there was one factor I wished had been tackled differently. Covering such a long history in 44 pages meant that the Normans’ experiences zoom by at sonic speed, barely allowing us to empathise with their characters. Maybe a slightly extended focus on each Norman would have worked better for me.
Perhaps the fact that I have never harboured dreams of seeing my name on a book cover also created a minor disconnect with Norman, whose sole ambition in every lifetime is to write and succeed at it. (Aspiring) authors might like this work even better as they will be able to connect with Norman’s frustrations about getting his works out into the world.
The book is marketed as an illustrated novella, but text still dominates. Don’t mistake it for a graphic novel. It is more like a chapter book for adults, with only three illustrations throughout. (Greedy me wanted more!) That said, I had a hearty laugh at the depiction of “The Norman Dynasty” towards the start of the book.
All in all, it is quite a fast read with an original approach, good when you are looking for an entertaining break in between intense reads. Its quirkiness is its USP.
My thanks to Zooloo’s Book Tours and author John Steinberg for a complimentary copy of “The Writer's Guide to Obscurity”, and for allowing me to be a part of this blog tour. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
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Author John Steinberg:
Born and raised in North London in 1952, John still lives in the city with his wife and three children. Privately educated, John left school after ‘A’ levels and completed a business diploma in what is now the University of Westminster, before entering banking.
He started training as an accountant but did not complete the course, choosing a position in his family’s furniture manufacturing business instead. John started his own mergers and acquisitions business in 1987, which he ran for almost 20 years before quitting to become a full time writer in 2007.
John has co-written and produced comedies for the stage and has created a series of books for children.
“Previously, I had only been interested in comedy and finally started to write down the things I said or thought of. That led me to co-write and produce a play, In the Balance, and then W for Banker – which appeared at the New End Theatre, Hampstead. It was then I decided to quit the world of business in favour of writing full-time, and move toward more serious subjects. My first novel has taken two years to write and is the first in a series of books I am calling the ‘Steinberg Stories’.”
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steinbergstories/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SteinbergStory/
Website: https://steinbergstories.com/
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Check out this book:
Buy Link: https://geni.us/6SwCzh
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This has been a pitstop on the #TheWritersGuideToObscurity blog tour conducted by Zooloo's Book Tours. (@ZooloosBookTours on Insta) Thanks for stopping by!
thank you so much for taking part in the tour and for sharing this great review x
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