The Best Book in the World

by Peter Stjernström

Who will win the race to write the best book in the world, and to what unimaginable lengths will they go to get there first? A hilarious tale of authorly competition. Titus Jensen is middle-aged, has a fondness for alcohol, and makes ends meet by giving public readings from obscure books at festivals. He can't help thinking there has to be more to life for an author of his quality. Eddie X is hip, a hit with the ladies, and loves being the center of attention. A radical poet and regular on the festival circuit, he can't help thinking there has to be more to life for a talented, good-looking man like himself. One night, after a successful event—Titus reads from The Diseases of Swedish Monarchs and Eddie X waxes lyrical to the thrashing tones of metal band The Tourettes—the unlikely pair get horribly drunk together and hatch a plan to achieve worldwide recognition. The answer is to write the best book in the world—a book so amazing that it will end up on all the bestseller lists in every category thriller, self-help, cooking, business, dieting—a book that combines everything in one! But there can only be one such book, and as the alcohol-induced haze clears both men realize they are not willing to share the limelight. Hilariously quirky and witty, this novel will take readers on a meandering race to the finish line, throwing plenty of satirical punches along the way.

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Swedish author based in Stockholm.
http://www.facebook.com/stjernstrom.p...

Reviews

[Sasha]

Bleghk.

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful. Although the idea promised a lot of fun, there was nothing engaging in the characters (some were likeable, though) or the sloppy plot, and the attempt at combining comic elements with depth was unsuccessful.
The reference to Jonas Jonasson on the cover of the Hungarian edition is an insult both to Jonasson, whom I liked very much, and the readers.
From the first pages to the last ones which in all honesty I just skimmed through, the writing evoked the feeling I dislike most in some contemporary authors: that I am not getting some private joke that just went on and on. I rarely ever say this about books I do manage to (quasi)finish, but this was a complete waste of time.

[Sasha Shilo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Id suggest to skip the last chapter.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I get what the author was trying to do and the twist at the end was very good. A quick read despite the effort to integrate meta levels, and maybe the humour is too Swedish???

[M F]

Apparently I read 104 pages of this in February 2015.

I have literally no memory of anything that happened in those 104 pages.

Maybe, one day, I will pick it up and start again from the beginning and see if it was worth reading more than just 104 pages before putting it down and never picking it up again, but for now, it's going on the DNF shelf, because my Currently Reading shelf has enough on it without leaving books there for two and a half years.