Reacher Said Nothing: Lee Child and the Making of Make Me
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Reacher Said Nothing: Lee Child and the Making of Make Me by Andy Martin
On September 1, 1994, Lee Child went out to buy the paper to start writing his first novel, in pencil. The result was Killing Floor, which introduced his hero Jack Reacher. Twenty years later, on September 1, 2014, he began writing Make Me, the twentieth novel in his number-one- bestselling Reacher series. Same day, same writer, same hero. The difference, this time, was that he had someone looking over his shoulder. Andy Martin, uber Reacher fan, Cambridge academic, expert on existentialism, and dedicated surfer, sat behind Lee Child in his office and watched him as he wrote. While Lee was writing his Reacher book, Andy was writing about the making of Make Me. Reacher Said Nothing is a book about a guy writing a book. An instant meta-book. It crosses genres, by bringing a high-level critical approach to a popular text, and gives a fascinating insight into the art of writing a thriller, showing the process in real time. It may well be the first of its kind.
"Fascinating, literary criticism as never practised before, over the shoulder as the writer writes - properly compelling reading for anybody who likes Lee Child novels, which is to say anybody who enjoys thrillers, which is to say anybody who values being told a story...revelatory...[Child says] "I don't begin with the writer: I begin with the reader." He does - and that's why he is the most commanding brand in fiction now." -- David Sexton * Evening Standard *
"I found it very entertaining. Until Child can be persuaded to publish his own version of Stephen King's On Writing, I think it will be a wise investment for anybody who wants to write popular fiction." -- Jake Kerridge * Daily Telegraph *
"It is as if Jack Reacher wrote literary criticism instead of beating bad guys to death with his elbows...because of Child's eloquent fascination with his craft, this book happens to be a better manural of writing than any manual of writing. It's also a entertaining buddy-suspense movie." * Financial Times *
"It's fascinating to watch the process of writing unfolding in real time...it shouldn't work - after all writing is a predominantly mental activity - and yet it does in a way that makes you wonder why no one's thought of doing this before....Andy Martin has created something new here: a fusion of literary criticism, biography and fly-on-the-wall meta-novel which serves as a remarkable insight into the creative process." * Spectator *
"Love Jack Reacher? You'll have to enjoy this....revels in the minutiae you didn't realise you wanted to know." * Shortlist *
"I found it very entertaining. Until Child can be persuaded to publish his own version of Stephen King's On Writing, I think it will be a wise investment for anybody who wants to write popular fiction." -- Jake Kerridge * Daily Telegraph *
"It is as if Jack Reacher wrote literary criticism instead of beating bad guys to death with his elbows...because of Child's eloquent fascination with his craft, this book happens to be a better manural of writing than any manual of writing. It's also a entertaining buddy-suspense movie." * Financial Times *
"It's fascinating to watch the process of writing unfolding in real time...it shouldn't work - after all writing is a predominantly mental activity - and yet it does in a way that makes you wonder why no one's thought of doing this before....Andy Martin has created something new here: a fusion of literary criticism, biography and fly-on-the-wall meta-novel which serves as a remarkable insight into the creative process." * Spectator *
"Love Jack Reacher? You'll have to enjoy this....revels in the minutiae you didn't realise you wanted to know." * Shortlist *
Dr Andy Martin is a lecturer in French literature and philosophy at the University of Cambridge. He has written books about Napoleon, Brigitte Bardot, Sartre and Camus, and surfing. He has also written for The Times, the New York Times, the Independent and Prospect magazine.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780593076620 |
| ISBN 10 | 0593076621 |
| Title | Reacher Said Nothing: Lee Child and the Making of Make Me |
| Author | Andy Martin |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Transworld Publishers Ltd |
| Year published | 2015-11-19 |
| Number of pages | 320 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |