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The Deadline
THE DEADLINE is the story of David Grossman, a Baby Boomer approaching sixty who loses his high-paying corporate job and decides to embark on a quest to write the Great American Novel. To buy time to fulfill his lifelong dream, he makes a deal with his loving but bottom-line conscious wife: he has one year to write his book and get it published; otherwise, it’s back to the corporate grind, “a life lived under the steady lash.” At first, one year seems like ample time, but he had not counted on the elusiveness of finding the right storyline, the difficulties of writing page after page, and the numbing frustrations of finding a publisher. And he surely had not counted on having to deal with a mercurial culinary genius from the Amazon, a high priestess of the dark arts, a dying mother, and sinister thugs from the Mob. With each passing day, Grossman feels the pressure of time slipping away and the likely end to his dream.
- GenresFiction
192 pages, ebook
First published July 7, 2012
13 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 12, 2019
A different type of story: about friendship, family and finances.
A sort of slice of life tale, about three couples, their comings and goings that are inter
connected. Family first, then friends and finally finances which plays an intersecting theme throughout the story as it does with all of us.
A sort of slice of life tale, about three couples, their comings and goings that are inter
connected. Family first, then friends and finally finances which plays an intersecting theme throughout the story as it does with all of us.
July 4, 2021
The Deadline
Hated it. A book basically about nothing. In the end, nothing. The author has the ability to tell a story but unfortunately he chose to tell a story about nothing.
Hated it. A book basically about nothing. In the end, nothing. The author has the ability to tell a story but unfortunately he chose to tell a story about nothing.
February 10, 2014
Nothing much happened in this story to hold the interest. Okay, it was well enough written but there was not enough meat on the story's bones. I guess anyone who calls themselves a writer has written something in a similar bio format. (Now hopefully gathering dust in a bottom drawer or cupboard). There was a decided lack of passion in Dave Grossman's decision to become a writer, wimpishly accepting the wife's deadline with gratitude. We rather longed for a Gaugin response – ditch the wife and kids and go for it!
I think mainly what was lacking was the author's ability to filter out the important elements from the trivial. Alex and Matt's culinary offerings seemed more frequently front and centre than Dave's struggle and advance as a card-carrying scribbler.
Generally a disappointment as a book but indicates that Mr Griffel has the tools of the trade if he can find a blueprint to employ them on.
I think mainly what was lacking was the author's ability to filter out the important elements from the trivial. Alex and Matt's culinary offerings seemed more frequently front and centre than Dave's struggle and advance as a card-carrying scribbler.
Generally a disappointment as a book but indicates that Mr Griffel has the tools of the trade if he can find a blueprint to employ them on.
January 27, 2016
I read this on Kindle. It is the story of David Grossman, in management at a publishing house, who is laid off. He makes a deal with his wife that he will take one year to write the book he has always wanted to write and then he will find a new job. This is a challenge, as they are nearing retirement age, but she agrees.
The rest of the story is his struggle with trying to write, as well as dealing with the approaching death of his mother. Throw in a close friend with a Brazilian girlfriend, a successful businesswoman sister, her gambling addicted husband, and a few other odd characters, and things are not what one would expect.
There was some attempt at humor, at least I hope it was supposed to be funny. If not, the book had more problems that I realized. I did not find the humor all that funny, though, and simply could not get invested enough in David to care whether he reached his goal or not.
The rest of the story is his struggle with trying to write, as well as dealing with the approaching death of his mother. Throw in a close friend with a Brazilian girlfriend, a successful businesswoman sister, her gambling addicted husband, and a few other odd characters, and things are not what one would expect.
There was some attempt at humor, at least I hope it was supposed to be funny. If not, the book had more problems that I realized. I did not find the humor all that funny, though, and simply could not get invested enough in David to care whether he reached his goal or not.
August 30, 2015
Very Enjoyable
A really enjoyable and insightful book. The style while relaxing and entertaining is also thoughtful and instructive. I believe it is just the kind of book a thoughtful, middle-aged audience would appreciate. I certainly did. I hope your readers are plentiful from this category and beyond because I think this this was a well-written and worthy narrative. I intend to devour more of your writings as soon as I discover them. Do keep writing.
A really enjoyable and insightful book. The style while relaxing and entertaining is also thoughtful and instructive. I believe it is just the kind of book a thoughtful, middle-aged audience would appreciate. I certainly did. I hope your readers are plentiful from this category and beyond because I think this this was a well-written and worthy narrative. I intend to devour more of your writings as soon as I discover them. Do keep writing.
July 31, 2015
Not good
November 27, 2015
Enjoyed this book
This book is about the struggles of writing and living with no money coming in. It made me think about what it could be like just focusing on writing.
This book is about the struggles of writing and living with no money coming in. It made me think about what it could be like just focusing on writing.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews