Tearjerker: A Novel

by Daniel Hayes

Unhinged by years of rejection letters, an author plots a wild scheme to gain an editor's undivided attention Until I bought one, I'd never touched a gun, never stood in front of a full-length mirror pointing a gun at myself. Bang, bang. Mine was a Magnum .357 purchased in New Jersey, much more svelte than I'd imagined a gun could be. Evan Ulmer takes matters into his own hands after his writerly dreams of fame and recognition have stalled. He kidnaps renowned editor Robert Partnow and cages him in a basement equipped with a TV, a treadmill, and a Porta-John. Evan shares his desperation with Bob, Bob reveals his own unsavory secrets, and together they watch the media spin this situation into a lurid tale of abduction and infidelity. Blurring the boundaries between fiction and real life, cunning and sincerity, flirtation and true love, Tearjerker unfolds in startling directions that make the reader wonder along with Evan, "Was abduction a difficult and gutsy endeavor or, instead, the predictable last resort of the desperately stupid?" In this darkly humorous debut novel, Daniel Hayes explores the human reality behind the tabloid headlines and the pathos of failure and yearning in a culture of high-stakes celebrity.

Genres: Fiction

184 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2004

Reviews

[Misha · Rating 2 out of 5]

BookList: Evan Ulmer, a struggling writer, finds himself doing the unthinkable. He buys a gun, abducts a book editor named Robert Partnow, and keeps him locked in the basement of his home in upstate New York. Ulmer creates for Partnow a fortress-prison equipped with a TV, portable toilet, and treadmill, but it becomes increasingly evident to captor and captive alike that Ulmer has no real plans for his abductee. Evan is a self-absorbed writer who seems only to write for the possibility of fame. He shares these dreams and his career disappointments with Bob, and he finds they have more in common than expected. A burgeoning romance with a plucky girl, also a writer, whom he meets at the public library forces Evan to face the enormity of the crime he has undertaken: What was he thinking? Tight, clever turns of phrase and a surprisingly light touch give this first novel a fresh feel even as it reprises a familiar theme--the absurdities of the publishing world and the agonies of rejection. -- MishaStone (BookList, 09-15-2004, p207)

[Jules Vilmur · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of those books I picked up by accident in the library and was curious enough about from the back cover, to bring it home. The pace is slow but builds well and I liked the little twists as they came along. A fine little book.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unexpected and hysterical, the characters were believable and the plot line was..its creative and interesting you'll definitly be entertained.