Have you ever wondered why popular books keep giving us the same tired plot lines over and over again?
Peter sure does. He has a theory that there are simply no more original ideas left in the world. To prove his hunch right, he makes a bet with his best friend, Andy. Together, along with the girl of his dreams and his best friend’s wife, they set out on a zany adventure that includes escaping the clutches of an illegal street racing crew, a terrorist attempt, one creepy morgue attendant, and a near death experience at the wheel of a well-known celebrity.
Will Peter find out why all of the words went away or will this unlikely foursome just prove he is a terrible writer?
Reviewed by:
Sandra
Rating: 4.5
stars
Review: Peter
has a problem: he has a hard time writing something that doesn’t suck. It’s a
lot more difficult than it seems, especially when everything has been done to
death.
Without that
best-selling novel, he won’t be able to make all those millions. So how does he end up making a living?
“…well…I’m
running an academic paper mill…Some people may take the moral high road on
this. Thos people would find the thought of doing work for other people, such
as lazy college students that are on a free ride through a sport scholarship,
detestable, but I see things just a little bit differently. I’m poor. You’d be
surprised by this, but a degree in English doesn’t stretch as far as it used
to…Besides the whole not-being-able-to-get-the-teaching-position-I-wanted thing,
I’m kind of soft. I can’t handle manual labor and I sure as hell can’t handle
retail. Retail, with its exchange of money for goods or services, requires
numbers and calculations and people yelling at you. Oh, God, the yelling.” (13)
There was
also an interesting theory about the doppelganger. “Is this another one of your
stupid theories? Like the whole thing about everyone on the planet having a
doppelganger because there’s a limited number of human facial features that
humans can have or whatever?” Mmmm…
Then comes
the bet: Proving that creativity is dead. Fascinating!
Peter is a
lovable, smart, frumpy nerd with a deep knowledge of pop culture and an
incredible shyness toward girls—like the guys on The Big Bang Theory. Andy’s wife, Angela, is one scary, jealous
Latina with her always yelling at him. No wonder Peter is afraid of her.
I loved the
cholo fight that they all get into. What is
the deal with the tear drop tattoo?
Full of
in-your-face humor, this story incorporates many genres—action, romance,
mystery, drama, horror, adventure—into one zany and enjoyable package. I didn’t
quite understand how they all wound up at a terrorist war camp surrounded by
dead zombies. Weird!
“What about
artistic integrity? What about making something that is going to last, be
memorable, mean something? Isn’t that why we do this? Why we create? I know I’m
just some wanna-be writer, but I can’t be the only one who isn’t in it for the
money. I’m in it because I want to share my stories with the world! I want kids
to have a sense of imagination and adults have the book stay with them years
after they’ve put it down…I want to leave something behind when I die.” (208)
It’s funny
how Peter is trying to kill himself to come up with a unique story, not
realizing that he was in one. Readers will wonder what Peter will learn at the
end of this day. Will he finally come up with that original story? Or will he
give up?
Funny and
enjoyable every step of the way!
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