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The King of Pain: A Novel With Stories
"One of 2012's most enjoyable novels,"—The New York Times
"This is a dark, sharp, very funny novel about imprisonment, torture and the dangerous pleasures of stories." —Zoe Heller, Notes on a Scandal
"Seth Kaufman's novel is a hoot and a boot, a zany, unsettling, satisfying, post post-modern, tragic-comic tour of prisons around the world and pain in the human heart. Start it and you won't stop." —John Darnton, Neanderthal
A riotously funny portrait of an out-of-control entertainment mogul and a devastating look at torture and imprisonment, The King of Pain is part George Saunders, part Jennifer Egan, part "Entourage," and 100% marvelous.
Rick Salter expects to be hated; after all, he’s the mind behind the outrageous—and outrageously successful—reality TV show about torture, “The King of Pain.” What he finds much more worrisome than the ire of cultural critics is that when he wakes up one Saturday morning, he’s trapped underneath his gigantic home entertainment system with no idea how he got there. Rick has 48 long hours ahead of him until his housekeeper will come to his rescue and nothing to pass the time except pain, bad memories—and a strange book he finds lying beside him. Called “A History of Prisons,” it is written by one Seth Kaufman, and it seems mysteriously relevant to Rick’s predicament…
"This is a dark, sharp, very funny novel about imprisonment, torture and the dangerous pleasures of stories." —Zoe Heller, Notes on a Scandal
"Seth Kaufman's novel is a hoot and a boot, a zany, unsettling, satisfying, post post-modern, tragic-comic tour of prisons around the world and pain in the human heart. Start it and you won't stop." —John Darnton, Neanderthal
A riotously funny portrait of an out-of-control entertainment mogul and a devastating look at torture and imprisonment, The King of Pain is part George Saunders, part Jennifer Egan, part "Entourage," and 100% marvelous.
Rick Salter expects to be hated; after all, he’s the mind behind the outrageous—and outrageously successful—reality TV show about torture, “The King of Pain.” What he finds much more worrisome than the ire of cultural critics is that when he wakes up one Saturday morning, he’s trapped underneath his gigantic home entertainment system with no idea how he got there. Rick has 48 long hours ahead of him until his housekeeper will come to his rescue and nothing to pass the time except pain, bad memories—and a strange book he finds lying beside him. Called “A History of Prisons,” it is written by one Seth Kaufman, and it seems mysteriously relevant to Rick’s predicament…
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First published June 14, 2012
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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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