Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Reviews of The Bestseller

The Bestseller
The Bestseller
Author: Olivia Goldsmith
ISBN-13: 9780060178222
ISBN-10: 0060178221
Publication Date: 8/1996
Pages: 514
Rating:
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 11

3.7 stars, based on 11 ratings
Publisher: Harpercollins
Book Type: Hardcover
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

14 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed The Bestseller on + 25 more book reviews
Dishy novel about the glamorous but cutthroat world of Manhattan publishing. Easy and enjoyable read, intriguing plot twists and fun characters.
janetlane avatar reviewed The Bestseller on
If you'd like a behind-the-scenes look at the world of publishing, you'll enjoy this novel. Olivia Goldsmith is one of my favorite authors and her descriptions are accurate and delightful. You'll meet the agent from hell, struggling writers that make your heart bleed, and an entertaining inside glimpse of editors and publishers. It's all in good fun, and, again, very entertaining.
Puddnp avatar reviewed The Bestseller on + 111 more book reviews
Good light typically "Goldsmith read".
reviewed The Bestseller on + 10 more book reviews
I loved this book, I thought that it was great that it showed the worst side of book publishing.. A little look into how the other people live!!
reviewed The Bestseller on + 8 more book reviews
I got quite a kick out of this one.
reviewed The Bestseller on + 391 more book reviews
As great as The First Wives Club. The novel focuses on five up and coming authors but only one who can become a best seller. It's everyone for themself.
reviewed The Bestseller on + 7 more book reviews
fun light reading
reviewed The Bestseller on + 26 more book reviews
Olivia Goldsmith gives the reader an inside look at how the big publishing houses operate. I found the book hard to put down. Each of the characters seems very real as they all compete to get their books published as best sellers.
Readnmachine avatar reviewed The Bestseller on + 1439 more book reviews
Not one of her better works. This fictional "tell-all" of the publishing world is so bogged down with name-dropping, inside jokes, and romans a clef that it loses sight of the story of the aspiring novelists. Also, Goldsmith seems to have run out of character names -- there's a Susann and a Susan, an Emma and an Emily, a Daniel and a David, AND two Terrys and two Geralds. WTF???
reviewed The Bestseller on + 50 more book reviews
An excellent read; a pageturner. Intricate look at the publishing world seen from the experiences of several authors - with romance and revenge thrown in.
reviewed The Bestseller on + 56 more book reviews
One of my favorite authors.
reviewed The Bestseller on
Wonderful book. She seamlessly connects five authors and their efforts to get a book published.Engossing, compelling.Before I started reading I thought the book was overly long, but it flew by. Sorry I had it on my shelf for so long without reading it. Highly recommend.
reviewed The Bestseller on + 255 more book reviews
Trivia: Paramount bought the film rights, but never made the movie.

From Publishers Weekly
It is an old adage that books about publishing do not sell, because those likely to be most interested will beg, borrow or steal them rather than buy. In the case of the latest by Goldsmith (The First Wives Club), that would be a pity, because it is a highly entertaining tale with a good share of romance and drama, considerable humor and some cynical fun at the expense of the book business; there are many recognizable characters, and a number of real-life walk-ons. Goldsmith\'s busy plot--which makes publishing seem as glamorous and crazy as fashion or the movies (settings for two of her previous books)--offers four women with novels being considered by high-powered New York publisher Davis & Dash. There is an elderly romance queen with a fading readership; a proud mother trying to get someone to read a magnum opus by her dead daughter; a cool young Englishwoman who has penned a quirkily charming book about a busload of American tourists in Tuscany; and a desperate young woman whose devious husband is trying to steal all the credit for her true-crime roman a clef. Throw in a corrupt publisher doctoring the books to try to make his own sales look bigger, a nymphomaniac and alcoholic editor-in-chief, a staunch young editor and her lesbian agent friend, and you have the makings of a spicy literary stew.
dollycas avatar reviewed The Bestseller on + 636 more book reviews
Same author as "The First Wives Club". Romance & Revenge