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Start-Up
A young man struggles to find his identity in this short story by the bestselling author of "The Tourist."
Olen Steinhauer's crafty story begins as an affectionate recounting by Tom, a down-on-his-luck graduate caring for his sick mother and reconnecting with his awkward friend, Jerry McLaughlin. Jerry lives in a relative's basement in Chicago, and over the intervening months the two young men strategize Jerry's seemingly innocuous plan to become a super-villain in the spirit of Bond greats like Blofeld. Things turn dark, however, when Jerry's plans find success, and he enlists the wayward Tom to help him expand his little start-up to the next level.
At turns witty and diabolical, "The Start-Up" is a fiendish take on the spy genre, as well as the dangerous friendships of Highsmith, le Carre, and others.
"Start-Up" by Olen Steinhauer is one of 20 short stories within Mulholland Books's Strand Originals series, featuring thrilling stories by the most legendary authors in the Strand Magazine archives.
Olen Steinhauer's crafty story begins as an affectionate recounting by Tom, a down-on-his-luck graduate caring for his sick mother and reconnecting with his awkward friend, Jerry McLaughlin. Jerry lives in a relative's basement in Chicago, and over the intervening months the two young men strategize Jerry's seemingly innocuous plan to become a super-villain in the spirit of Bond greats like Blofeld. Things turn dark, however, when Jerry's plans find success, and he enlists the wayward Tom to help him expand his little start-up to the next level.
At turns witty and diabolical, "The Start-Up" is a fiendish take on the spy genre, as well as the dangerous friendships of Highsmith, le Carre, and others.
"Start-Up" by Olen Steinhauer is one of 20 short stories within Mulholland Books's Strand Originals series, featuring thrilling stories by the most legendary authors in the Strand Magazine archives.
Audible Audio
First published April 19, 2016
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About the author
Olen Steinhauer
32 books1,240 followersOlen Steinhauer grew up in Virginia, and has since lived in Georgia, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Texas, California, Massachusetts, and New York. Outside the US, he's lived in Croatia (when it was called Yugoslavia), the Czech Republic and Italy. He also spent a year in Romania on a Fulbright grant, an experience that helped inspire his first five books. He now lives in Hungary with his wife and daughter.
He has published stories and poetry in various literary journals over the years. His first novel, The Bridge of Sighs (2003), the start of a five-book sequence chronicling Cold War Eastern Europe, one book per decade, was nominated for five awards.
The second book of the series, The Confession, garnered significant critical acclaim, and 36 Yalta Boulevard (The Vienna Assignment in the UK), made three year-end best-of lists. Liberation Movements (The Istanbul Variations in the UK), was listed for four best-of lists and was nominated for an Edgar Award for best novel of the year. The final novel in the series, Victory Square, published in 2007, was a New York Times editor's choice.
With The Tourist, he has left the Cold War behind, beginning a trilogy of spy tales focused on international deception in the post 9/11 world. Happily, George Clooney's Smoke House Films has picked up the rights, with Mr. Clooney scheduled to star.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/olenst...
He has published stories and poetry in various literary journals over the years. His first novel, The Bridge of Sighs (2003), the start of a five-book sequence chronicling Cold War Eastern Europe, one book per decade, was nominated for five awards.
The second book of the series, The Confession, garnered significant critical acclaim, and 36 Yalta Boulevard (The Vienna Assignment in the UK), made three year-end best-of lists. Liberation Movements (The Istanbul Variations in the UK), was listed for four best-of lists and was nominated for an Edgar Award for best novel of the year. The final novel in the series, Victory Square, published in 2007, was a New York Times editor's choice.
With The Tourist, he has left the Cold War behind, beginning a trilogy of spy tales focused on international deception in the post 9/11 world. Happily, George Clooney's Smoke House Films has picked up the rights, with Mr. Clooney scheduled to star.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/olenst...
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 27, 2020
A mulholland/strand magazine short
Really enjoyed this short story. It is hard for me to believe Steinhauer is not living in Chicago as he portrayed the spots flawlessly. This Mulholland short is very funny, clever and brilliant in execution. I could not possibly spoil this for another reader. If you are from Chicago, think Kerryman and location of the Chinese embassy. I was able to borrow this from my library. I highly recommend this short, particularly for any Chicagoan.
Really enjoyed this short story. It is hard for me to believe Steinhauer is not living in Chicago as he portrayed the spots flawlessly. This Mulholland short is very funny, clever and brilliant in execution. I could not possibly spoil this for another reader. If you are from Chicago, think Kerryman and location of the Chinese embassy. I was able to borrow this from my library. I highly recommend this short, particularly for any Chicagoan.
April 20, 2018
Definitely a fun surprise! Short stories are not usually my "thing," because I love getting invested in the characters and going on long adventures... but I found this buried in my review stack of CDs and figured "why not?" I'm glad I did.
The devolution of Jerry deciding to become a criminal mastermind was hilarious. It started off slow and silly and sort of snowballed out of control. I wasn't sure what the main character was going to do at the end, but all in all I liked the ending.
I'm still a bit confused about the sections focusing on the death of the main character's mother... they seem out of place, but I suppose it helps to build who he is as a person.
The devolution of Jerry deciding to become a criminal mastermind was hilarious. It started off slow and silly and sort of snowballed out of control. I wasn't sure what the main character was going to do at the end, but all in all I liked the ending.
I'm still a bit confused about the sections focusing on the death of the main character's mother... they seem out of place, but I suppose it helps to build who he is as a person.
April 4, 2021
Nice story about how a super villain might get started.
April 8, 2022
Didn’t really like the book. Don’t know what is happening.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews