The Writing Class: A Novel (Amy Gallup, 1) - Softcover

Willett, Jincy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312428413 ISBN 13: 9780312428419

Publisher: Picador, 2009

Synopsis

Amy Gallup was a promising writer once--published and highly praised at twenty-two. It was all downhill from there, and now, year in and year out, she teaches a writing workshop at the local university extension. And this semester begins just the same as the others. But then there's a threatening phone call, followed by obscene threats worked into the student's peer evaluations. Then a murder--and every one of the students is a suspect. The clues are hidden in their writing, and she (and we) can solve the murder only by looking more closely at each writer's attempts at fiction. Hilarious, vicious, and elegantly written, The Writing Class examines the desperation, perversion, and mania of the writing life through an unforgettable mystery story.

About this title

About the Author:

JINCY WILLETT is the author of Jenny and the Jaws of Life and Winner of the National Book Award. She lives in San Diego, California.

From Publishers Weekly:

Can a class of wannabe novelists solve a murder in their midst? That's the premise of this dark comedy of the absurd from Willett (Winner of the National Book Award), a boisterous satire of pseudointellectuals, impotent writers and the adult extension programs of public universities. The only things Amy Gallup, a once-noted California author, has published in years are blurbs of other writers' work. Amy's only income comes from teaching fiction writing to a motley collection of varyingly talented prepublished adults. Someone in the class is making threatening phone calls and sending extremely cruel notes to other students. When two of the students are murdered, a deep sense of danger takes hold. Yet the class goes on. Amy's lectures actually constitute a damn fine guide to writing fiction, while Willett's prose has sparkling moments (The line was playful, offhand, the poem itself a smug, imperious cat stretch). The tension is so strong that readers can hardly resist the temptation to peek ahead and see which student is the killer. (June)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Picador
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0312428413
• ISBN 13: 9780312428419
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 326