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The King of Pain: A novel with stories
A riotously funny portrait of an out-of-control entertainment mogul and a dazzlingly original look at incarceration, The King of Pain is part Jennifer Egan, part Italo Calvino, part "Entourage," and 100% marvelous.
Rick Salter is a man everybody loves to hate. But that’s fine; in fact, it’s become a way of life for Rick ever since the launch of his outrageous – and outrageously successful – reality TV show about torture, The King of Pain. So when one Saturday morning Rick comes to on his living room floor, he’s not really bothered that cultural critics have put him on top of the list of “people who will hasten the demise of civilization” – no, his real problem is that he appears to be trapped under his gigantic home entertainment system. Which is no longer attached to the wall, but to him. With no phone or BlackBerry within reach, and with his housekeeper Marta off for the weekend, Rick has 48 long hours ahead of him before he can hope for rescue. 48 hours of pain and bad memories. Thank god there’s a book lying around to pass the time. It’s called A History of Prisons and the stories in the book seem to be strangely relevant to Rick’s own predicament.
Rick Salter is a man everybody loves to hate. But that’s fine; in fact, it’s become a way of life for Rick ever since the launch of his outrageous – and outrageously successful – reality TV show about torture, The King of Pain. So when one Saturday morning Rick comes to on his living room floor, he’s not really bothered that cultural critics have put him on top of the list of “people who will hasten the demise of civilization” – no, his real problem is that he appears to be trapped under his gigantic home entertainment system. Which is no longer attached to the wall, but to him. With no phone or BlackBerry within reach, and with his housekeeper Marta off for the weekend, Rick has 48 long hours ahead of him before he can hope for rescue. 48 hours of pain and bad memories. Thank god there’s a book lying around to pass the time. It’s called A History of Prisons and the stories in the book seem to be strangely relevant to Rick’s own predicament.
300 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 14, 2012
24 people are currently reading
352 people want to read
About the author
Seth Kaufman
11 books13 followersSeth Kaufman has been a reporter for the NY Post’s Page Six and the Editorial Director of TV Guide.com. His work has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, N.Y Observer and many other publications, including supermarket tabloids. "The King of Pain," his first work of satirical fiction, was called "One of 2012's most enjoyable novels," by the New York Times. The sequel, "Nuns with Guns,"was called "Literary gold," by Radar Online. His 2018 book of music essays, "Metaphysical Graffiti,: was dubbed "the best in creative nonfiction," by the British press.
His comic novel "The Seductive Lady Vanessa of Manhattanshire," is an inventive retelling of Don Quixote. He is the co-author of two acclaimed sports memoirs, "Pitino; My Story" and "Eat My Schwartz." And the bestselling book Stealth War: How China Took Over While America's Elites Slept
His comic novel "The Seductive Lady Vanessa of Manhattanshire," is an inventive retelling of Don Quixote. He is the co-author of two acclaimed sports memoirs, "Pitino; My Story" and "Eat My Schwartz." And the bestselling book Stealth War: How China Took Over While America's Elites Slept
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
September 13, 2012
Rick “the Prick” Salter is not a very nice man. So when he wakes up alone in his big, empty mansion trapped under his hefty home entertainment system, the only person he can count on to rescue him is his housekeeper—who won’t arrive for at least 48 hours. With no clue as to how he ended up in this predicament, all Rick can do is reflect on his recent dealings with his reality show, “The King of Pain,” and read a book that’s fallen near him, A History of Prisons by one Seth Kaufman.
Through Rick’s story, Kaufman skewers the world of reality television. “The King of Pain” puts its contestants through torturous trials—starvation, sleep deprivation, physical pain—and scores them based on their endurance and audience votes. Essentially, Rick—or Kaufman—has dreamed up a show in which all pretenses are abandoned and reality programming is distilled into its most basic element: drama through human suffering. Rick is well aware that humans have always held a perverse fascination with witnessing the travails of other people.
The stand-alone short stories that make up the book-within-a-book A History of Prisons read like fables, each painting a short but sweet vignette of one person’s prison experience and highlighting elements such as karma, kismet, and irony. The Chinese dissident who writes letters for an illiterate cellmate. The protestor who goes on hunger strike. The African prison guard who finds the tables turned on him.
Meanwhile, in the “real” world, Rick has found the tables turned on him. Through his reality show, he has become a master of torture, putting the show’s contestants through hell in order to captivate an audience. Now he’s the one in hell, immobilized, dehydrated, and helpless, and we, the readers, are the audience. The image of Rick trapped under the weight of his own home entertainment system is a powerful symbol of how consumerism and the media imprisons us all. There’s an element of the metaphysical in this book—we, the readers, are in a way the audience of “The King of Pain” show. As Rick outlines each episode, one cannot help wondering how each contestant will fare. It’s easy to be disgusted by the show’s shamelessness, and yet impossible to avoid being pulled in.
While The King of Pain is primarily a dark roasting of the media, it’s also an ode to books. A History of Prisons keeps Rick sane through his predicament by transporting him to other worlds, subtly stirring up his thoughts and making him reflect, and bringing him company through the characters’ and author’s voices. One particularly powerful story within A History of Prisons depicts a futuristic culture in which everyone is absorbed in digital devices and the entertainment industry has been killed by pirating. Two kids, deprived of their devices, discover the lasting joys of reading and appreciate books for their timelessness. As one of the characters points out, gadgets die and digital entertainment is “less than air,” but all you need to read a book is a source of light.
The King of Pain is a book with messages, wrapped in stories and sprinkled with wit, bound together by the themes of imprisonment and human endurance. It’s essentially two books in one: Rick’s story and the book he reads to pass the time while waiting for rescue. Rick is trapped physically, emotionally, and morally. When we meet him, he’s an arrogant, full-of-himself media king who’s willing to do anything and everything to advance his ambitions. He ignores the voices of reason that tell him that he’s going to far, unable to see past his show’s high ratings and what that means for revenue. But his amorality has left him lonely, and he repeatedly expresses his regret for having allowed Amanda, the woman who gave him the History of Prisons book, to walk out of his life.
Eventually, unable to do anything but think, Rick gains perspective and becomes aware of the perverse world he lives in. Although he is undoubtedly a jerk, one cannot help but sympathize with him as a character. His sharp first person narration brings him to life, and the obtuseness with which he expresses himself shows that he isn’t an evil or cruel person, simply one who has been morally compromised and distorted by the madness of Hollywood that surrounds him. It’s easy to judge him for his brashness, and at the same time, easy to see why he acted the way he did. Who wouldn’t want to be the mastermind behind a hit show like “The King of Pain,” or, for that matter, “The Biggest Loser,” “Fear Factor,” or “Survivor?”
In The King of Pain, Kaufman has created a brilliant satire that entertains as it sends its message. It’s unique, original, and innovative, presenting commentary on modern culture while being wonderfully entertaining. I was so drawn into this book that I flew through it in less than two days, unable to put it down.
Through Rick’s story, Kaufman skewers the world of reality television. “The King of Pain” puts its contestants through torturous trials—starvation, sleep deprivation, physical pain—and scores them based on their endurance and audience votes. Essentially, Rick—or Kaufman—has dreamed up a show in which all pretenses are abandoned and reality programming is distilled into its most basic element: drama through human suffering. Rick is well aware that humans have always held a perverse fascination with witnessing the travails of other people.
The stand-alone short stories that make up the book-within-a-book A History of Prisons read like fables, each painting a short but sweet vignette of one person’s prison experience and highlighting elements such as karma, kismet, and irony. The Chinese dissident who writes letters for an illiterate cellmate. The protestor who goes on hunger strike. The African prison guard who finds the tables turned on him.
Meanwhile, in the “real” world, Rick has found the tables turned on him. Through his reality show, he has become a master of torture, putting the show’s contestants through hell in order to captivate an audience. Now he’s the one in hell, immobilized, dehydrated, and helpless, and we, the readers, are the audience. The image of Rick trapped under the weight of his own home entertainment system is a powerful symbol of how consumerism and the media imprisons us all. There’s an element of the metaphysical in this book—we, the readers, are in a way the audience of “The King of Pain” show. As Rick outlines each episode, one cannot help wondering how each contestant will fare. It’s easy to be disgusted by the show’s shamelessness, and yet impossible to avoid being pulled in.
While The King of Pain is primarily a dark roasting of the media, it’s also an ode to books. A History of Prisons keeps Rick sane through his predicament by transporting him to other worlds, subtly stirring up his thoughts and making him reflect, and bringing him company through the characters’ and author’s voices. One particularly powerful story within A History of Prisons depicts a futuristic culture in which everyone is absorbed in digital devices and the entertainment industry has been killed by pirating. Two kids, deprived of their devices, discover the lasting joys of reading and appreciate books for their timelessness. As one of the characters points out, gadgets die and digital entertainment is “less than air,” but all you need to read a book is a source of light.
The King of Pain is a book with messages, wrapped in stories and sprinkled with wit, bound together by the themes of imprisonment and human endurance. It’s essentially two books in one: Rick’s story and the book he reads to pass the time while waiting for rescue. Rick is trapped physically, emotionally, and morally. When we meet him, he’s an arrogant, full-of-himself media king who’s willing to do anything and everything to advance his ambitions. He ignores the voices of reason that tell him that he’s going to far, unable to see past his show’s high ratings and what that means for revenue. But his amorality has left him lonely, and he repeatedly expresses his regret for having allowed Amanda, the woman who gave him the History of Prisons book, to walk out of his life.
Eventually, unable to do anything but think, Rick gains perspective and becomes aware of the perverse world he lives in. Although he is undoubtedly a jerk, one cannot help but sympathize with him as a character. His sharp first person narration brings him to life, and the obtuseness with which he expresses himself shows that he isn’t an evil or cruel person, simply one who has been morally compromised and distorted by the madness of Hollywood that surrounds him. It’s easy to judge him for his brashness, and at the same time, easy to see why he acted the way he did. Who wouldn’t want to be the mastermind behind a hit show like “The King of Pain,” or, for that matter, “The Biggest Loser,” “Fear Factor,” or “Survivor?”
In The King of Pain, Kaufman has created a brilliant satire that entertains as it sends its message. It’s unique, original, and innovative, presenting commentary on modern culture while being wonderfully entertaining. I was so drawn into this book that I flew through it in less than two days, unable to put it down.
February 13, 2016
A decent read
I enjoyed this book. At first it I thought I would have trouble getting into the story as I felt a little disjointed but I soon discovered that the characters and the plot were being brought together in a delightful and catchy way that gripped me and invited me to continue reading. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to be surprised
I enjoyed this book. At first it I thought I would have trouble getting into the story as I felt a little disjointed but I soon discovered that the characters and the plot were being brought together in a delightful and catchy way that gripped me and invited me to continue reading. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to be surprised
April 30, 2013
With a title like this, you can't be too sure what you're getting into. (Even with the "very funny" call out quote and comic-book style old TV on the cover). The story of had me from the first page, however. I knew right away I was in the hands of someone who knew what he was doing and the story did not let go til the bitter - or really, rather sweet - end. Rick Slater, an aging, bright and thoroughly compromised producer, has been saved from the Hollywood has-been ash heap by becoming the guiding light of a horrid, torture-based reality TV show. As the show reaches a crescendo of awfulness (and popularity), Slater finds himself one day pinned beneath his collapsed, massive entertainment center. As he endures the varied agonies that come with being pressed like an old Salem witch, he reflects on his shabby, checkered past. When he isn't reminiscing, regretting, reforming, he distracts himself with a book of stories that has fallen off the shelf. The book was given to him by a worthy young woman (and just-out-of-reach object of desire) who once served as his assistant. She has inscribed it with a cryptic message about a lesson he needs to learn. These stories are all written as stand-alone works are uniformly excellent, really often rising to brilliance. Slater's search for the meaning of this inscription helps tie the front of the book to the back. This was a book I looked forward to finding on my night stand for as long as it lasted.
September 25, 2012
Arranged as a set of framed stories, the novel part (loosely termed) is told in first person by main character Rick Salter, a Hollywood-based TV and movie producer. He wakes under an entertainment center too heavy to move with no hope of a quick salvation at the hands of others. A small book of short stories fallen from the entertainment center is his only companion as he waits for someone to come looking for him before it's too late.
So the novel is built around the short stories, sharing some of Rick's past but focusing mainly on his recent TV hit The King of Pain (which seems most relevant given his situation). Nothing of the novel is explored very deeply, but it's fast, easy, and entertaining. What makes this book a good read isn't the framing but the short stories themselves. It's quite a good little collection with the common theme of imprisonment explored in several interesting ways. Together, the pieces form a varied patchwork of both dark and light that provides a nice reading experience.
And I would probably watch The King of Pain, and love it. ;-)
So the novel is built around the short stories, sharing some of Rick's past but focusing mainly on his recent TV hit The King of Pain (which seems most relevant given his situation). Nothing of the novel is explored very deeply, but it's fast, easy, and entertaining. What makes this book a good read isn't the framing but the short stories themselves. It's quite a good little collection with the common theme of imprisonment explored in several interesting ways. Together, the pieces form a varied patchwork of both dark and light that provides a nice reading experience.
And I would probably watch The King of Pain, and love it. ;-)
August 31, 2012
One of the B&N sale ebooks this summer.
A storyline wound around the main characters reading of a book of short stories. The actual storyline is sort of sparse but interesting enough to make you want to see how it comes out and how he got into the situation he is in. The short stories have some really good ones, the kind of short story that makes you want to read a fleshed out long version. (I don't usually like short stories - they get over way too quick.)
A storyline wound around the main characters reading of a book of short stories. The actual storyline is sort of sparse but interesting enough to make you want to see how it comes out and how he got into the situation he is in. The short stories have some really good ones, the kind of short story that makes you want to read a fleshed out long version. (I don't usually like short stories - they get over way too quick.)
September 28, 2013
This is a fun book; a bit unusual in bouncing back and forth between the wacky world of producing over-the-top reality TV and a variety of prisoner stories. The weave is compelling and the Hollywood stuff makes we want to re-listen to Lynda Obst's "Hello, He Lied" which I remember enjoying several years ago.
September 26, 2012
I won my copy thru library thing. This was a very unique book, unlike any book I have ever read. It is really hard to describe it without giving away the entire details of the book. It was well written & I loved the story idea. I found it hard to put down.
July 31, 2012
I just loved this book! The writer has an engaging writing style that he uses to tell funny, quirky, engaging stories! Once I started the book, I couldn't wait to read each story. I recommend this book for a trip where you will have lots of starts and stops.
August 23, 2012
This is a unique novel. At the least, Kaufman's perspective and voice are original. The conversational flow of speech in Rick Salter's chapters is refreshing and fun to read, and the "Prison" stories accent Salter's predicament very well.
September 13, 2016
A really pleasant surprise! I won this in member giveaway and didn't think it was quite up my alley, but it was engaging and fun. The narrative is intertwined with short stories, a device I haven't seen before really (and it did work, it wasn't distracting or disruptive). A fun book overall.
February 16, 2013
This was really great! Funny, snarky and a little dark.
January 12, 2014
A book I couldn't put down- the short stories were just as good as the main storyline!
November 3, 2014
One of the more unique books I've read in awhile. It's a collection of short stories incorporated into a storyline that weaves them all together. Very entertaining. I really loved it.
February 26, 2017
A fun and fast read.
The irony is that I bought this as a nook book for $1.99.
Thomas Binder would be happy to know that 98% of the rest of my books are hardback, page-turning volumes.
The irony is that I bought this as a nook book for $1.99.
Thomas Binder would be happy to know that 98% of the rest of my books are hardback, page-turning volumes.
January 6, 2022
I love this book! Kaufman does this wonderful thing of twisting and flipping over the stories being told onto and within each other, and onto and within our actual world, in a meta way that is an anecdote for the very things the book is commenting on: our reality-tv and object-obsessed scrunching of experience and people, our self-destructive desires, our use of narratives to deny and extol. The side-by-side stories of the Hollywood producer trapped beneath his destroyed home entertainment centre who has no place to go as he awaits rescue, and the varied prison-related stories he ends up reading to pass the time (in actual book form!) weave together in ways that emerge over time, brought together by his concurrent contemplation of the smash hit reality tv show he’s been working on (“The King of Pain”). There is a wonderful momentum that starts to pick up as the patterns and themes reveal themselves and the end of the book is a very satisfying re-birth that occurs within the story but also within us, me, you, the reader as we close the book and feel good that we just read it. Well crafted, intelligent, compassionate and amusing, all of the stories represent a wonderful variety of genres, characters, locales and cultures. I highly recommend!
January 24, 2015
I didn't enjoy this book. The protagonist is trapped under fallen furniture and to pass the time, he reads a book of short stories. In between each story, the book goes back to the protagonist and his story. I found the organization of his story, broken up by unrelated short stories, very distracting. I read through half the book (about 2 or 3 short stories) and then skipped to the last 2 chapters to read about the main guy and find out why he was trapped under that furniture.
The worst part is that the short stories were all about war and prison and ugly stuff like that. I would never choose to read those kinds of short stories - a short story needs to quickly grab the reader and I'm not grabbed by war and prisons.
I started to give this book 1 star to reflect the simply awful organization of unappealing short stories interrupting the main story, then decided to add a star because the writing style was easy to read and the main character's story was interesting.
The worst part is that the short stories were all about war and prison and ugly stuff like that. I would never choose to read those kinds of short stories - a short story needs to quickly grab the reader and I'm not grabbed by war and prisons.
I started to give this book 1 star to reflect the simply awful organization of unappealing short stories interrupting the main story, then decided to add a star because the writing style was easy to read and the main character's story was interesting.
December 9, 2012
"The King of Pain" was a book that I won in a good reads contest and otherwise probably wouldn't have picked up. I don't normally read a lot of adult fiction or books with stories in them but this was definitely a page turner! The concept is unique and really worked in way of storytelling!! The stories were short enough to keep your interest (my favorite being about the Giz) and it was always amusing to read Rick's brutally opinionated take on each other them (I especially enjoyed how Kaufman snuck some praise in there for himself). And I will admit I do watch A LOT of different reality competitions on TV so that added to my appreciation of the book. This book has interested me in reading more by Seth Kaufman and I would definitely recommend it for reality TV enthusiasts or someone just looking for something totally different to read!
January 5, 2017
I don't get why this novel is meant to be funny, I didn't get that from it at all. It is however a very good and well crafted read. The story alternates between Rick's thoughts while he is trapped under a large piece of furniture, and stories he reads from a book about prisons. Novels with this kind of structure can often be frustrating, switching back and forth between the "bad" boring bits and the actual action, but this wasn't the case at all with this one. The prison stories were mostly very interesting, and uncannily relevant to Rick's predicament, and the moments Rick shared with us in between were also intriguing and gripping. I was very impressed with the ability of the author to keep me gripped in a plot which basically reads "man gets stuck under heavy furniture, reads a book about prisons whilst awaiting rescue" !
February 6, 2017
Great little story with little stories in between. I found myself wishing that there was more to the little novels within the novel, as they're quite good!
August 11, 2012
Interesting approach of stories within a novel. Quick and entertaining read, with some funny insider stuff for Hollywood/LA types, but overall the main character was rather unsympathetic and I found myself looking forward to the stories rather than the narrator's story. But I like Kaufman's idea here.
October 29, 2014
This was just not the book for me. I bought the book because a review said it was SO funny, I didn't find it so funny. I like the concept, a man is trapped under a heavy bookcase, so to pass the time he starts reading short stories (which happen to be written by the author?) Some of the stories are interesting and humorous to a point, but overall this just wasn't for me.
July 22, 2018
A really enjoyable read. The ending was unexpected. I just finished it, and I haven't decided how I feel about the ending. But I really enjoyed the book and recommend it. It was very well written, and the structure of it - alternating between short stories and the main story - really worked well. Typically I would not like a book setup like that, but the writer did an excellent job.
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January 20, 2016Good writing but expect a very mixed bag here - the narrator is stuck in a very awkward position and is reading a book of short stories, which are extremely varied, while reviewing his life in between. Reviews say it's hilarious, but I didn't find anything laugh out loud funny. The situation is kind of funny, but the stories aren't. Again, they're well written.
January 19, 2014
Excellent!
It is with wit and charm that Kaufman delivers this delightful take of the darker, voyeuristic aspects of the human heart. A true page turner, this tale lives up to all expectations and then some. A must read!
It is with wit and charm that Kaufman delivers this delightful take of the darker, voyeuristic aspects of the human heart. A true page turner, this tale lives up to all expectations and then some. A must read!
October 26, 2015
Kaufman has an original approach to novel-writing: a variety of stories within a story, all on the theme of imprisonment. As a comment on the exploitation practised by reality TV shows, it definitely succeeds.
Recommended.
Recommended.
January 20, 2016
There are two different parts to this book: the ongoing experience of the narrator as he lies trapped beneath his enormous entertainment set, and a bunch of short stories that he reads to pass the time. These. sections have to lean against each other real hard in order for this setup to work.
October 7, 2016
A little strange?
After a certain point the humor and satire in the framework story of the book fall pretty flat.
The stories within the story were more interesting and entertaining and the main reason I read the entire book, thus the three stars.
After a certain point the humor and satire in the framework story of the book fall pretty flat.
The stories within the story were more interesting and entertaining and the main reason I read the entire book, thus the three stars.
October 27, 2012
Terrible. Not funny. Not very insightful. I'll never get the hours back I spent reading this.
October 6, 2012
I started but will not finish.
January 18, 2013
Intercut w. a few too many episodes from a mythical book-- slows it down wayway too much.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews