"A travelogue of purgatory. Brutal, but minutely rendered--a chronicle
of small betrayals and vicissitudes in a ruthless world. Losers,
hustlers and delusional artists, all trapped in their pretense and
hollow lives; making deals with the devil at the crossroads of
Tinseltown." --Guillermo del Toro
Tim Blake Nelson's debut novel is an epic group portrait of four men
grappling for control of a script in a radically changing Hollywood, or
the City of Blows.
It's early 2020, and legendary producer Jacob Rosenthal is eager to make
his next film, Coal, adapted from the bestselling novel by the
celebrated writer Rex Patterson. The project--which takes on the
controversial topic of race in America--is Jacob's envisioned magnum
opus, and likely his swan song. He selects David Levit to direct, a
major opportunity for the classically trained actor/director whose own
films, while garnering critical acclaim, have not resulted in box office
success.
But the announcement of David's hiring doesn't sit well with a producer
from David's past, Brad Shlansky, who channels the last remaining
vestiges of his creativity into a revenge plot that could very well
scupper the making of Coal, and ruin the lives of its producer and
director in the process.
A sprawling, character-driven depiction of the modern film industry,
City of Blows reaches back decades to the formative experiences of
each of the novel's central figures to explore what first motivated them
to become involved in the quixotic and often venal world of
movie-making. Driven by their diverse backgrounds, each must navigate
the same huckstering circus that puts films on screen.
From the start, Tim Blake Nelson's sharp and unsparing voice holds a
mirror up to America itself, using Hollywood to investigate the cultural
and economic fault lines that have come to dominate and confound us all.
You will find yourself unable to turn away from the ruthlessness and
despair, the hubris and sheer evil, as City of Blows accelerates to
its unimaginable yet inevitable crescendo.
