A SCABROUSLY FUNNY AND FIERCELY INTELLIGENT SATIRE OF THE LITERARY WORLD
FROM THE ACCLAIMED AUTHOR OF THE PATRICK MELROSE NOVELS
Edward St. Aubyn's Patrick Melrose novels were some of the most
celebrated works of fiction of the past decade. Ecstatic praise came
from a wide range of admirers, from literary superstars such as Zadie
Smith, Francine Prose, Jeffrey Eugenides, and Michael Chabon to
pop-culture icons such as Anthony Bourdain and January Jones. Now St.
Aubyn returns with a hilariously smart send-up of a certain major
British literary award.
The judges on the panel of the Elysian Prize for Literature must get
through hundreds of submissions to find the best book of the year.
Meanwhile, a host of writers are desperate for Elysian attention: the
brilliant writer and serial heartbreaker Katherine Burns; the lovelorn
debut novelist Sam Black; and Sonny, convinced that his magnum opus, The
Mulberry Elephant, will take the literary world by storm. Things go
terribly wrong when Katherine's publisher accidentally submits a cookery
book in place of her novel; one of the judges finds himself in the
middle of a scandal; and Sonny, aghast to learn his book isn't on the
short list, seeks revenge.
Lost for Words is a witty, fabulously entertaining satire that cuts to
the quick of some of the deepest questions about the place of art in our
celebrity-obsessed culture, and asks how we can ever hope to recognize
real talent when everyone has an agenda.
