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The Mythmakers
A must-read twisty literary mystery.
A journalist searches for answers after discovering herself in an enigmatic author's final, unpublished manuscript.
Sal Cannon’s life is in shambles. Her relationship is crumbling, and her career in journalism hits a low point after it’s revealed that her profile of a playwright is full of inaccuracies. She’s close to rock-bottom when she reads a short story by Martin a much older author she met at a literary event years ago. Much to her shock, the story is about her and the moment they met. When Sal learns the story is excerpted from his unpublished novel, she reaches out to the story’s editor—only to learn that Martin is deceased. Desperate to leave her crumbling life behind and to read the manuscript from which the story was excerpted, Sal decides to find Martin’s widow, Moira.
Moira has made it clear that she doesn’t want to be contacted. But soon Sal is on a bus to Upstate New York, where she slowly but surely inserts herself into Moira’s life. Or is it the other way around? As Sal sifts through Martin’s papers and learns more about Moira, the question of muse and artist arises—again and again. Even more so when Martin’s daughter’s story emerges. Who owns a story? And who is the one left to tell it?
The Mythmakers is a nesting doll of a book that grapples with perspective and memory, as well as the battles between creative ambition and love. It’s a story about the trials and tribulations of finding out who you are, at any stage in your life, and how inspiration might find you in the strangest of places.
A journalist searches for answers after discovering herself in an enigmatic author's final, unpublished manuscript.
Sal Cannon’s life is in shambles. Her relationship is crumbling, and her career in journalism hits a low point after it’s revealed that her profile of a playwright is full of inaccuracies. She’s close to rock-bottom when she reads a short story by Martin a much older author she met at a literary event years ago. Much to her shock, the story is about her and the moment they met. When Sal learns the story is excerpted from his unpublished novel, she reaches out to the story’s editor—only to learn that Martin is deceased. Desperate to leave her crumbling life behind and to read the manuscript from which the story was excerpted, Sal decides to find Martin’s widow, Moira.
Moira has made it clear that she doesn’t want to be contacted. But soon Sal is on a bus to Upstate New York, where she slowly but surely inserts herself into Moira’s life. Or is it the other way around? As Sal sifts through Martin’s papers and learns more about Moira, the question of muse and artist arises—again and again. Even more so when Martin’s daughter’s story emerges. Who owns a story? And who is the one left to tell it?
The Mythmakers is a nesting doll of a book that grapples with perspective and memory, as well as the battles between creative ambition and love. It’s a story about the trials and tribulations of finding out who you are, at any stage in your life, and how inspiration might find you in the strangest of places.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published June 13, 2023
132 people are currently reading
25892 people want to read
About the author
Keziah Weir
3 books123 followersKeziah Weir is a Senior Editor at Vanity Fair. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Elle, Esquire, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. She grew up in San Francisco, California, and on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia; spent her twenties in New York City; and currently lives in Maine with her husband and dog.
What people are saying about THE MYTHMAKERS, on sale June 13 2023:
"Every once in a while, a novel appears that grips you and confides in you as an old friend would. Keziah Weir’s THE MYTHMAKERS is not only a love letter to the mysteries that bind us, but it’s also a remarkable portrayal of how we move forward, stumble, get up again and rebuild our lives when we need to the most. Suspenseful, elegant, so full of life and the ghosts we carry, this is, quite simply, beautiful storytelling."
—Paul Yoon, author of Run Me to Earth
“A novel about ambition—art-making, self-making—and the ways in which, when questions of gender and desire and love enter the scene, lies and truths can tangle as intricately as the links of a fine necklace. THE MYTHMAKERS glitters with suspense, and it held me rapt. Keziah Weir has arrived.”
—Clare Beams, author of The Illness Lesson
“Keziah Weir’s THE MYTHMAKERS is a wildly inventive, thought-provoking page-turner filled with luminous language and resonant characters. It tackles the weightiest of subjects—love, art, inspiration, death—with grace and wit. This is the rare novel that will stay with me for a very, very long time."
—Tara Conklin, NYTimes-bestselling author of The Last Romantics
What people are saying about THE MYTHMAKERS, on sale June 13 2023:
"Every once in a while, a novel appears that grips you and confides in you as an old friend would. Keziah Weir’s THE MYTHMAKERS is not only a love letter to the mysteries that bind us, but it’s also a remarkable portrayal of how we move forward, stumble, get up again and rebuild our lives when we need to the most. Suspenseful, elegant, so full of life and the ghosts we carry, this is, quite simply, beautiful storytelling."
—Paul Yoon, author of Run Me to Earth
“A novel about ambition—art-making, self-making—and the ways in which, when questions of gender and desire and love enter the scene, lies and truths can tangle as intricately as the links of a fine necklace. THE MYTHMAKERS glitters with suspense, and it held me rapt. Keziah Weir has arrived.”
—Clare Beams, author of The Illness Lesson
“Keziah Weir’s THE MYTHMAKERS is a wildly inventive, thought-provoking page-turner filled with luminous language and resonant characters. It tackles the weightiest of subjects—love, art, inspiration, death—with grace and wit. This is the rare novel that will stay with me for a very, very long time."
—Tara Conklin, NYTimes-bestselling author of The Last Romantics
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 237 reviews
October 23, 2023
first book in a while to make me Rage. this put me right back in my mean era!
it sets out to write about love and ambition, about who owns stories, about the flaws of people and of writing and of science. all interesting things.
unfortunately it chooses to do so with a writing style and a protagonist that seem to be in an annoying-off, endlessly undermining its own purpose. i don't know whether the author or the main character is more self-absorbed and self-impressed, but i do know that there was no character or narrative growth here.
i wanted to like this very badly, and i thought that maybe i would, but all of it rested on my belief that eventually the self-insert self-interest would end in a flurry of character development and redemption and recognition.
unfortunately, the book and i seem to disagree about what was happening throughout. and nothing ever changed.
bottom line: wasted potential!
---------------------
tbr review
new dream job alert
it sets out to write about love and ambition, about who owns stories, about the flaws of people and of writing and of science. all interesting things.
unfortunately it chooses to do so with a writing style and a protagonist that seem to be in an annoying-off, endlessly undermining its own purpose. i don't know whether the author or the main character is more self-absorbed and self-impressed, but i do know that there was no character or narrative growth here.
i wanted to like this very badly, and i thought that maybe i would, but all of it rested on my belief that eventually the self-insert self-interest would end in a flurry of character development and redemption and recognition.
unfortunately, the book and i seem to disagree about what was happening throughout. and nothing ever changed.
bottom line: wasted potential!
---------------------
tbr review
new dream job alert
September 6, 2023
I am honestly not quite sure how I felt about this book...
I kept expecting some kind of revelation between the main characters that never came.
At times a bit confusing between reality and fantasy. I understand that this becomes a wake up call giving Sal hope for a new chapter and a fresh start as she goes on after learning about Martin, Moira and Lillian’s past. She comes to realize after losing her boyfriend and her job that she really wasn’t happy where she was after all, and her awakening is a beautiful ending.
I won this on goodreads in exchange for my honest review but it wasn’t listed as literary fiction so this was a first for me. It does have a pinch of fantasy and science fiction vibes intertwined with literature and it was beautifully written.
3.5 stars rounded up
I kept expecting some kind of revelation between the main characters that never came.
At times a bit confusing between reality and fantasy. I understand that this becomes a wake up call giving Sal hope for a new chapter and a fresh start as she goes on after learning about Martin, Moira and Lillian’s past. She comes to realize after losing her boyfriend and her job that she really wasn’t happy where she was after all, and her awakening is a beautiful ending.
I won this on goodreads in exchange for my honest review but it wasn’t listed as literary fiction so this was a first for me. It does have a pinch of fantasy and science fiction vibes intertwined with literature and it was beautifully written.
3.5 stars rounded up
June 18, 2023
This was alright. I made it through to the halfway mark and sent a text to my fellow Hoarder Elizabeth saying, this was just okay, but I'm waiting for something to happen. I didn't feel like this had enough strength in its storytelling to propel it forward or to keep me invested. The three writers are each unreliable in their own ways, and I enjoy reading unreliable narrators, but these three were pretty weak in their unreliability.
I just wasn't that invested in it and didn't feel a strong urge to want to keep reaching for it. Therefore, it was just alright.
I just wasn't that invested in it and didn't feel a strong urge to want to keep reaching for it. Therefore, it was just alright.
January 6, 2023
We've all been a little too obsessed with something that we felt had deeper meaning, right? (Don't let me sound crazy here guys, agree with me..) Our main character discovers an author she met one single time has passed and an excerpt from his final project was published posthumously. Here's the kicker, our main character believes it is about her and she goes on a mission to find the full manuscript - throwing away her friends, her boyfriend, and her job in the process.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
January 21, 2023
Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. My rating for The Mythmakers is 4.5/5 stars which, in my rating system, means “I really really enjoyed this book.”
Keziah Weir’s debut novel is a triumph. Her writing is compelling in a way that makes it clear that she understands the way people think, what motivates and drives them. She has a way with descriptions and metaphors that make even the most mundane actions feel literary, a talent I often attribute to Sally Rooney. Her characters feel exceedingly real, and she portrays them in their rawness, with all of their flaws and vulnerabilities on such display that when you see a bit of yourself in a character, you’ll feel almost self conscious, like she’s seen you too. Weir has the kind of writing talent that made me want to pause reading and try to write a novel myself— it’s aspirational.
Beyond that, this novel contained so many layers. At times the narrative felt as aimless as the main character’s path, but I let it take me along for the ride, having faith that the winding slopes of the story would lead somewhere interesting. I was right. The joy of this book is in the journey— Sal starts off wanting to learn more about the novel she believes is about her, and in turn uncovers the thousands of little stories that make up a life (or a network of lives). The reader goes on a similar adventure: pulled in by an interesting premise, and then hooked by the interconnected stories of people relatable enough to be familiar but unfamiliar enough to be compelling.
At first it seems like the novel is about a man’s obsession with Sal, but it becomes about Sal’s obsession with the man, and then with the women who shaped his life and his work. There’s a wonderful sort of irony there.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this book, and I highly recommend it. It was a pleasure to read, and I know it’ll stay on my mind for a long time. The publishing date is June 13, 2023— preorder now!!
Link to my visual review: https://www.instagram.com/p/CnqYmvZLy...
Keziah Weir’s debut novel is a triumph. Her writing is compelling in a way that makes it clear that she understands the way people think, what motivates and drives them. She has a way with descriptions and metaphors that make even the most mundane actions feel literary, a talent I often attribute to Sally Rooney. Her characters feel exceedingly real, and she portrays them in their rawness, with all of their flaws and vulnerabilities on such display that when you see a bit of yourself in a character, you’ll feel almost self conscious, like she’s seen you too. Weir has the kind of writing talent that made me want to pause reading and try to write a novel myself— it’s aspirational.
Beyond that, this novel contained so many layers. At times the narrative felt as aimless as the main character’s path, but I let it take me along for the ride, having faith that the winding slopes of the story would lead somewhere interesting. I was right. The joy of this book is in the journey— Sal starts off wanting to learn more about the novel she believes is about her, and in turn uncovers the thousands of little stories that make up a life (or a network of lives). The reader goes on a similar adventure: pulled in by an interesting premise, and then hooked by the interconnected stories of people relatable enough to be familiar but unfamiliar enough to be compelling.
At first it seems like the novel is about a man’s obsession with Sal, but it becomes about Sal’s obsession with the man, and then with the women who shaped his life and his work. There’s a wonderful sort of irony there.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this book, and I highly recommend it. It was a pleasure to read, and I know it’ll stay on my mind for a long time. The publishing date is June 13, 2023— preorder now!!
Link to my visual review: https://www.instagram.com/p/CnqYmvZLy...
May 15, 2023
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of
The Mythmakers.
The premise was intriguing and the writing is great, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped.
I thought there would be elements of suspense or drama, but this is really a story about a reclusive author, his humble beginnings as a writer, the women he loved, and the unfinished manuscript he left behind.
I'm torn about these types of novels; the writing is usually top notch, with good character development and descriptions, but I'm always left wondering, "What's the point?"
Why should I care about this author? These people? His story, his life?
Because I don't. I didn't.
I understand Sal's desire to learn more about the author soon spiraled into an obsession since her own life, personal and professional, had and was crumbling.
She needed something to focus on, to understand, to make sense of, since her life was a mess.
Still, I couldn't understand why she treated Hugh the way she did; drunk dialing, ignoring his calls and her responsibilities.
Her behavior was more like a teenager's or 20 year old instead of a grown adult, but I do know adults who act like children.
I didn't like Sal, or Moira, maybe Wes.
Like I mentioned earlier, the writing is great, but wordy, very, very wordy.
Descriptions of what Sal is doing and thinking and seeing seem to run pages, paragraphs and paragraphs long, when just a paragraph or a few sentences would do.
This is a character study of an author, told from his POV, and from the POVs of the people who love him.
He's not very likable or talented, nor memorable yet not very surprisingly, and quite cliche, that he be surrounded by intelligent, talented women whose ambitions are curtailed by their love for him and their own self doubt.
The premise was intriguing and the writing is great, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped.
I thought there would be elements of suspense or drama, but this is really a story about a reclusive author, his humble beginnings as a writer, the women he loved, and the unfinished manuscript he left behind.
I'm torn about these types of novels; the writing is usually top notch, with good character development and descriptions, but I'm always left wondering, "What's the point?"
Why should I care about this author? These people? His story, his life?
Because I don't. I didn't.
I understand Sal's desire to learn more about the author soon spiraled into an obsession since her own life, personal and professional, had and was crumbling.
She needed something to focus on, to understand, to make sense of, since her life was a mess.
Still, I couldn't understand why she treated Hugh the way she did; drunk dialing, ignoring his calls and her responsibilities.
Her behavior was more like a teenager's or 20 year old instead of a grown adult, but I do know adults who act like children.
I didn't like Sal, or Moira, maybe Wes.
Like I mentioned earlier, the writing is great, but wordy, very, very wordy.
Descriptions of what Sal is doing and thinking and seeing seem to run pages, paragraphs and paragraphs long, when just a paragraph or a few sentences would do.
This is a character study of an author, told from his POV, and from the POVs of the people who love him.
He's not very likable or talented, nor memorable yet not very surprisingly, and quite cliche, that he be surrounded by intelligent, talented women whose ambitions are curtailed by their love for him and their own self doubt.
November 22, 2022
Salala Cannon is living a halfhearted life as a magazine journalist with less and less stories published and less and less assignments given. Her relationship is lukewarm at best and she is wondering where her place is in the world. During a moment of writer's block, she reads a newly published story by a famous author and realizes it is based on her. She reaches out to the author and finds that he is deceased and his wife is not interested in speaking.
What would you do? Well Sal gets on a bus and goes to her house. What happens next is an interesting take on ownership of stories and perspectives. If you like great literature, The Mythmakers is for you! #Scribner
What would you do? Well Sal gets on a bus and goes to her house. What happens next is an interesting take on ownership of stories and perspectives. If you like great literature, The Mythmakers is for you! #Scribner
April 23, 2023
I always have a problem enjoying novels where the characters behave in ways that seem distinctly artificial. We all know fiction is fiction, but there is an art to making characters feel like they are doing things organically and are not just pawns being moved around by the author-God. In "The Mythmakers," I really struggled to believe in the idea that the protagonist would really believe the writer had written a whole book about her, based on one short meeting. Of course, this turns out to be the jump-off for something different, and that is the problem - it's so obviously set up for something else. Unfortunately, I didn't feel interested in where it went from there. The protagonist's actions are just annoying, not in an "unlikable female character I can relate to" way, but just in an annoying way.
June 15, 2023
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. The only reason I got through it was because I knew I was expected to rate and review it as a thanks for receiving an early copy.
This book was on my “Want to Read” shelf before I entered the giveaway, as the premise sounded interesting and intriguing. However, the story doesn’t really follow the premise and it meanders among many characters and periods of time. I didn’t find myself invested in what happened to any of the characters, and the story just fell flat for me.
This book was on my “Want to Read” shelf before I entered the giveaway, as the premise sounded interesting and intriguing. However, the story doesn’t really follow the premise and it meanders among many characters and periods of time. I didn’t find myself invested in what happened to any of the characters, and the story just fell flat for me.
June 20, 2023
We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams; —
...
You shall teach us your song's new numbers,
And things that we dreamed not before:
Yea, in spite of a dreamer who slumbers,
And a singer who sings no more. —from 'Ode' by Arthur O'Shaughnessy
The Mythmakers by Keziah Weir is a wonderfully immersive story — the type where the world around me goes gray and unfocused while I'm reading scenes that are vivid and every bit as fixed as the reality I'm steadfastly ignoring.
Sal Cannon, unwittingly on the precipice of rock bottom, starts the novel having just read an excerpt from an unpublished book by Martin Keller, an author she happened to have met some six years prior at a literary gathering of sorts. The magazine-published fictionalized story is about their meeting and a seemingly lasting connection that causes the narrator to contemplate this young woman and the possibility of a life not lived, a future left untouched. A quick internet search shows Sal that Martin died only recently, and the excerpt was published posthumously.
Alongside this revelation in her life, Sal is soon grappling with a recently published profile of a playwright she has penned (purr at that alliteration) that has proven to be a near-complete fabrication with Sal having taken the playwright at his word. Or, perhaps she is in part to blame for the way she wanted the narrative to shape itself around the playwright's story and the story she was interested in telling — the clues and hints she chose, on some level, to ignore.
Amidst the tangled web of Sal's life, there's her relationship with Hugh, which either is teetering on the edge of collapse or languishing in a state of inertia. With neither of them invested in salvaging it, Sal's focus shifts to contacting Moira, Martin's widow. She's determined to interview Moira, delve into Martin's life, and catch a glimpse of his unpublished manuscript, all in an attempt to uncover her own place within his story.
Sal becomes a vessel for others' memories, even down to memories she herself should own some part of. Occasionally, over the course of the novel, suffering from frequent lapses in memory during nights of heavy drinking, Sal — who is beginning to acknowledge her drinking problem — takes a secret delight in hearing about her own behavior as told through others' eyes.
Revolving around relationships, connections, and the dynamics between muse and artist, perception and reality, the true essence of The Mythmakers lies in exploring memory. The intriguing elements of this novel, skillfully conveyed by Weir through Sal, are inherently unanswerable. Reminding me of Flaubert's philosophy that "There is no truth. There is only perception," Weir delves into the notion that memory holds no absolute truth, but rather subjective interpretations and a collection of overlapping perceptions.
What I really liked about this one is that it raises the oft-asked questions about "Who owns a story? And who allowed to tell it?" without actually saying it and chewing it down into unresolvable cud. Instead, it's like the essence of those questions is woven into the very fabric of the story, expressed through its captivating visuals and the raw power of both its narrative and beautifully complex characters.
Weir has a wonderful grasp on her writing style and the way she chooses to craft her words, the scenes, and develop her characters. She lobs beautifully executed adjectives at you like a perfectly timed tennis ball. Weir takes you on a journey through different lenses of the storytellers — Sal, whose hand is all over every aspect of this story, Moira, Martin, Lillian (Martin's first wife), and eventually Caroline (Martin and Moira's daughter) and Wesley (an old friend of Martin's). At the heart of the novel, beginning with the piece about the playwright, lies the concept of truth, making it an intriguing choice to present the other perspectives through Sal's lens. Also, it's worth noting that many books that use this structure of an interviewer dealing with their own life while uncovering the lives of others often results in an imbalance in the narrative, but Weir masterfully handles both sides and there never feels like a true division between the sections. Magically it all feels like part of a larger whole — a bigger story.
The Mythmakers is a thought-provoking journey that invites you to ponder the complexities of storytelling and the endless possibilities of interpretation.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This affected neither my opinion of the book nor the content of my review.
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams; —
...
You shall teach us your song's new numbers,
And things that we dreamed not before:
Yea, in spite of a dreamer who slumbers,
And a singer who sings no more. —from 'Ode' by Arthur O'Shaughnessy
The Mythmakers by Keziah Weir is a wonderfully immersive story — the type where the world around me goes gray and unfocused while I'm reading scenes that are vivid and every bit as fixed as the reality I'm steadfastly ignoring.
Sal Cannon, unwittingly on the precipice of rock bottom, starts the novel having just read an excerpt from an unpublished book by Martin Keller, an author she happened to have met some six years prior at a literary gathering of sorts. The magazine-published fictionalized story is about their meeting and a seemingly lasting connection that causes the narrator to contemplate this young woman and the possibility of a life not lived, a future left untouched. A quick internet search shows Sal that Martin died only recently, and the excerpt was published posthumously.
Alongside this revelation in her life, Sal is soon grappling with a recently published profile of a playwright she has penned (purr at that alliteration) that has proven to be a near-complete fabrication with Sal having taken the playwright at his word. Or, perhaps she is in part to blame for the way she wanted the narrative to shape itself around the playwright's story and the story she was interested in telling — the clues and hints she chose, on some level, to ignore.
Amidst the tangled web of Sal's life, there's her relationship with Hugh, which either is teetering on the edge of collapse or languishing in a state of inertia. With neither of them invested in salvaging it, Sal's focus shifts to contacting Moira, Martin's widow. She's determined to interview Moira, delve into Martin's life, and catch a glimpse of his unpublished manuscript, all in an attempt to uncover her own place within his story.
Sal becomes a vessel for others' memories, even down to memories she herself should own some part of. Occasionally, over the course of the novel, suffering from frequent lapses in memory during nights of heavy drinking, Sal — who is beginning to acknowledge her drinking problem — takes a secret delight in hearing about her own behavior as told through others' eyes.
Revolving around relationships, connections, and the dynamics between muse and artist, perception and reality, the true essence of The Mythmakers lies in exploring memory. The intriguing elements of this novel, skillfully conveyed by Weir through Sal, are inherently unanswerable. Reminding me of Flaubert's philosophy that "There is no truth. There is only perception," Weir delves into the notion that memory holds no absolute truth, but rather subjective interpretations and a collection of overlapping perceptions.
What I really liked about this one is that it raises the oft-asked questions about "Who owns a story? And who allowed to tell it?" without actually saying it and chewing it down into unresolvable cud. Instead, it's like the essence of those questions is woven into the very fabric of the story, expressed through its captivating visuals and the raw power of both its narrative and beautifully complex characters.
Weir has a wonderful grasp on her writing style and the way she chooses to craft her words, the scenes, and develop her characters. She lobs beautifully executed adjectives at you like a perfectly timed tennis ball. Weir takes you on a journey through different lenses of the storytellers — Sal, whose hand is all over every aspect of this story, Moira, Martin, Lillian (Martin's first wife), and eventually Caroline (Martin and Moira's daughter) and Wesley (an old friend of Martin's). At the heart of the novel, beginning with the piece about the playwright, lies the concept of truth, making it an intriguing choice to present the other perspectives through Sal's lens. Also, it's worth noting that many books that use this structure of an interviewer dealing with their own life while uncovering the lives of others often results in an imbalance in the narrative, but Weir masterfully handles both sides and there never feels like a true division between the sections. Magically it all feels like part of a larger whole — a bigger story.
The Mythmakers is a thought-provoking journey that invites you to ponder the complexities of storytelling and the endless possibilities of interpretation.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This affected neither my opinion of the book nor the content of my review.
April 12, 2023
I am honestly very sad that I couldn't connect with this one. Reading what the book was about had me excited to start and even the first two chapters had me intrigued. However, I didn't like how we bound through multiple people. I understood the point but it just lost me. I also was a little annoyed with the main character. I understand we all have become obsessed with something at least once or a few times in our lives. But how often do we become so obsessed that we throw everything away? The main character threw away her job, her boyfriend, her friends, I am sure I can keep the list going. All for her obsession to be something that wasn't really about her.
Now I will end this review. I still feel anybody who is interested should definitely give this book a shot. Don't just let my silly review intimidate you from reading it. The story overall is really good and the author does a very good job with her writing style. Which I definitely loved. I just personally got lost and even by the end I had no real connection with the story nor the characters.
Now I will end this review. I still feel anybody who is interested should definitely give this book a shot. Don't just let my silly review intimidate you from reading it. The story overall is really good and the author does a very good job with her writing style. Which I definitely loved. I just personally got lost and even by the end I had no real connection with the story nor the characters.
February 13, 2024
A book a pretty much non-existent plot that is filled with delusional, self-absorbed characters. I still don’t understand the point of what I read.
July 16, 2023
Premise fell really flat. Story was interesting though. But seemed pointless ultimately
September 6, 2023
My original review disappeared so trying again --
Sal Cannon, millennial, lives in NYC with her college boyfriend she's no longer in love with, drinks too much, is a struggling journalist, and thinks her fortunes will change when she lands an interview with a reclusive playwright. Alas, the interview will prove her downfall. And what does any self-absorbed millennial down on her luck, needing something to validate her, believe, when, in the aftermath of the debacle, she reads a story in the Paris Review written by a charming older author she once met a few years back at a literary party, and they spent time together, and perhaps there was the possibility of something more? She believes she is in the story, the young character the author fell for at a literary party. To prove that it is her, that she made such an impression and has been memorialized in this way, finding out more about the author will become her obsession, take her to upstate New York, to the author's widow, the author's former best friend, to learn of the author's life, his ex-wife, and more. The structure didn't work for me, but this well-written novel was fun and interesting to read, and I was surprised that I ended up more interested in Sal's chapters than in the author's, his widow's, his best friend's, etc.
Sal Cannon, millennial, lives in NYC with her college boyfriend she's no longer in love with, drinks too much, is a struggling journalist, and thinks her fortunes will change when she lands an interview with a reclusive playwright. Alas, the interview will prove her downfall. And what does any self-absorbed millennial down on her luck, needing something to validate her, believe, when, in the aftermath of the debacle, she reads a story in the Paris Review written by a charming older author she once met a few years back at a literary party, and they spent time together, and perhaps there was the possibility of something more? She believes she is in the story, the young character the author fell for at a literary party. To prove that it is her, that she made such an impression and has been memorialized in this way, finding out more about the author will become her obsession, take her to upstate New York, to the author's widow, the author's former best friend, to learn of the author's life, his ex-wife, and more. The structure didn't work for me, but this well-written novel was fun and interesting to read, and I was surprised that I ended up more interested in Sal's chapters than in the author's, his widow's, his best friend's, etc.
July 24, 2023
One can read the potential in Weir’s first novel - beautiful imagery that evokes loneliness, confusion loss. Unfortunately the proposed plot line unravels in the first few chapters, and continues to devolve. The protagonist is entirely unlikeable and purposelessly selfish til the final pages. And this story, despite the pretty words, has already been told (and told much better) many times before.
April 10, 2024
Rep: lesbian character, Black nonbinary side character
May 5, 2025
(book club pick for April)
June 27, 2023
Highly underwhelming. I think the premise had promise, but the story struggled to express some deeper meaning and just didn't click for me. (As noted previously, realistic fiction is not my favorite genre.)
With many thanks to Goodreads and Marysue Rucci Books for this ARC giveaway.
With many thanks to Goodreads and Marysue Rucci Books for this ARC giveaway.
June 6, 2023
As I deep dove into this book, I found myself turning pages, after pages. I couldn’t get enough…yes some parts were not really necessary, Sal’s actions were childish, I didn’t like Hugh at all but I did like the other stories.
You think this story is about a short story written by Martin about Sal…but you get so much more. You get a plot twist, and a “but wait there’s more”.
I enjoyed reading the multiple stories and getting all those backgrounds. I loved how this book was written too.
Thank you goodreads giveaways and the author for the ARC copy.
You think this story is about a short story written by Martin about Sal…but you get so much more. You get a plot twist, and a “but wait there’s more”.
I enjoyed reading the multiple stories and getting all those backgrounds. I loved how this book was written too.
Thank you goodreads giveaways and the author for the ARC copy.
June 20, 2023
This novel is a deep dive into characters, including their history and how they got to be who they are today. My problem with the novel is that I never felt I identified with any of them enough to continue reading about them. I did not find any, except perhaps Sawyer, engaging. They just did not come across to me as interesting enough to really care about them. For me, the most interesting part of the book was Moira talking about Drake's equation and the possibility of life on other planets as well as belief in God and science.
If I had not agreed to review this book, I don't think I would have finished it. About half way through, I wondered why I continued reading. Broken relationships. Dysfunctional people. There was nothing compelling me to continue other than I thought I should. I am glad I made it to the end, however, as I thought the epilogue the best part of the book.
I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.
If I had not agreed to review this book, I don't think I would have finished it. About half way through, I wondered why I continued reading. Broken relationships. Dysfunctional people. There was nothing compelling me to continue other than I thought I should. I am glad I made it to the end, however, as I thought the epilogue the best part of the book.
I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.
June 28, 2023
Sal is coming apart at the seams when she reads a short story that she thinks is about her. This is the catalyst for her ripping apart the remaining threads holding her life together, and heading off in pursuit of a story- her story, she thinks.
There are many layers to this onion. Who gets to tell a story? How does the perspective change the story itself? What should be done with a writer’s work posthumously? What defines “truth”?
This was a compelling and insightful if somewhat uneven story. I found myself vacillating between extremely engaged, and bored to the point of setting it down awhile before returning to it, only to power through and become quite interested again. I’m going to be thinking about this one awhile.
I was lucky enough to win a copy of this book from a Goodreads Giveaway I’d entered. Thank you Keziah Weir, Goodreads, and Marysue Rucci Books for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.
There are many layers to this onion. Who gets to tell a story? How does the perspective change the story itself? What should be done with a writer’s work posthumously? What defines “truth”?
This was a compelling and insightful if somewhat uneven story. I found myself vacillating between extremely engaged, and bored to the point of setting it down awhile before returning to it, only to power through and become quite interested again. I’m going to be thinking about this one awhile.
I was lucky enough to win a copy of this book from a Goodreads Giveaway I’d entered. Thank you Keziah Weir, Goodreads, and Marysue Rucci Books for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.
June 18, 2023
Thank you Goodreads for the arc!
Man I so wanted to like this. I kept hoping for something more but it just fell flat. For the life of me I couldn’t get behind Sal. I just didn’t care. This book is heavy on the character driven as opposed to being plot driven so that might be part of the problem for me personally. The author’s writing was great for sure and I would definitely read another book by Keziah Weir hence the 3 stars instead of something lower. But this one just wasn’t for me.
Man I so wanted to like this. I kept hoping for something more but it just fell flat. For the life of me I couldn’t get behind Sal. I just didn’t care. This book is heavy on the character driven as opposed to being plot driven so that might be part of the problem for me personally. The author’s writing was great for sure and I would definitely read another book by Keziah Weir hence the 3 stars instead of something lower. But this one just wasn’t for me.
July 6, 2023
2.5. Almost gave up mid-way, but stuck with it. Aspiring author Sal reads short story by Martin Keller. She thinks it’s about her. Sets out to meet widow Moira, in hopes of seeing the unfinished manuscript. Too many side stories that didn’t all mesh. Moira’s career, Martin’s first wife Lillian, Martin and Moira’s daughter, Caroline. Just didn’t have a purpose for me.
June 24, 2023
(2.5)
The initial premise was appealing, but this never quite figures out what story it wants to tell. There is a lot of exposition, but it never really comes together into anything meaningful or compelling.
The initial premise was appealing, but this never quite figures out what story it wants to tell. There is a lot of exposition, but it never really comes together into anything meaningful or compelling.
June 13, 2023
This book showed promise but went down hill fast. The story got confusing and the dialogue became unbelievable - it was a struggle to finish
July 30, 2023
I was intrigued by this book’s description but the story just meandered and I was not that interested in any of the characters’ motives or POVs.
August 28, 2023
Fairly interesting read - wished the book would had more interesting twists.
January 23, 2024
THE MYTHMAKERS is a curious and controlled novel, one that offers a dreamy journey into the life of a piece of art with dubious roots and an opportunistic future.
Keziah Weir's debut novel capitalizes on her own career to craft a smart tale: As a senior editor at Vanity Fair, she understands the printed word world deeply, setting her sights on a frustrated mid-career journalist who has a writing setback and is looking for her next gig. Our heroine, Sal, shortly thereafter discovers a short story in the press from an author she's met before - and realizes, quickly, that the short story is about her. Determined to find out why she's the subject of a celebrated author's work, Sal abandons everything in her life to move upstate and dig into the roots of author Martin Keller's life - including his influences, losses, and creative liberties.
THE MYTHMAKERS is billed as a mystery, but it's a literary one at best - do not expect a shocking twist in the text here. Rather, it's a mysterious investigation into the way that art comes to existence: How it's produced and how it's consumed. It reads closer to historical fiction than mystery, with much of the focus of the story being on the lives of the characters in the novel. As such, it moves languidly at times (and could've benefitted from quicker pacing). The payoff on the page is there, undoubtedly though. It seems as though the importance of Legacy is what's really being examined here, and as you dig into the backstory of these characters - often wacky, downright brilliant, frustratingly passionate and sometimes chauvinistic - one can see how the magic of this story really blooms. To borrow from the musical Hamilton, "Who lives, who dies, who tells your story" is what's on the menu here. Sal's journey will frustrate some readers with her aloof personality and misguided ambitions, but in my view Weir has done a terrific job of creating a flawed protagonist so desperate for accomplishment that she'll find clues where there are none. As such, the ending of this mystery (no spoilers) offers a terrific lesson and a beautiful final portrait. THE MYTHMAKERS is dreamy and, at times, dreary, but wholly original and thoughtful in its scope.
Keziah Weir's debut novel capitalizes on her own career to craft a smart tale: As a senior editor at Vanity Fair, she understands the printed word world deeply, setting her sights on a frustrated mid-career journalist who has a writing setback and is looking for her next gig. Our heroine, Sal, shortly thereafter discovers a short story in the press from an author she's met before - and realizes, quickly, that the short story is about her. Determined to find out why she's the subject of a celebrated author's work, Sal abandons everything in her life to move upstate and dig into the roots of author Martin Keller's life - including his influences, losses, and creative liberties.
THE MYTHMAKERS is billed as a mystery, but it's a literary one at best - do not expect a shocking twist in the text here. Rather, it's a mysterious investigation into the way that art comes to existence: How it's produced and how it's consumed. It reads closer to historical fiction than mystery, with much of the focus of the story being on the lives of the characters in the novel. As such, it moves languidly at times (and could've benefitted from quicker pacing). The payoff on the page is there, undoubtedly though. It seems as though the importance of Legacy is what's really being examined here, and as you dig into the backstory of these characters - often wacky, downright brilliant, frustratingly passionate and sometimes chauvinistic - one can see how the magic of this story really blooms. To borrow from the musical Hamilton, "Who lives, who dies, who tells your story" is what's on the menu here. Sal's journey will frustrate some readers with her aloof personality and misguided ambitions, but in my view Weir has done a terrific job of creating a flawed protagonist so desperate for accomplishment that she'll find clues where there are none. As such, the ending of this mystery (no spoilers) offers a terrific lesson and a beautiful final portrait. THE MYTHMAKERS is dreamy and, at times, dreary, but wholly original and thoughtful in its scope.
June 23, 2023
I found this book to be elegantly paced, balancing a readability that made me eager to continue the novel at the end of my work day with a depth that provided ample discussion points. I'm looking forward to discussing this book with my friends as many of the characters contain a familiarity and complexity to them that could sustain a robust debate. Was this person moral? Were they selfish? What should they have done differently? I imagine that we will find ourselves grappling with several of the main themes of the book - topics such as free will, ownership of art, the rewriting the past (both in terms of lives not lived and in lives lived, but rememoried). Weir, who writes with the skill and confidence of a seasoned story teller, addresses these themes throughout her masterful debut. Additionally, she tinkers and toys with these topics such that by novel's end the reader is left with nuanced perspectives on the themes and the characters. Spanning generations, eras and physical locations, Mythmakers made for a wonderful read featuring characters and descriptions that I will carry with me on my own imperceptible trajectory of life.
June 29, 2023
This is a book about journalist Sal Cannon written by a real-life senior editor Keziah Weir at Vanity Fair. I'd say she knows something of writers! The book starts of with an interesting premise - Sal has a nice life with her live-together boyfriend Hugh. She profiles a reclusive director, and then one day reads a short story by a man named Martin Keller that is basically about a night years prior when Sal met the author. The story is an excerpt from an unpublished book written about her! She decides to investigate the situation and her life begins to unravel as she pursues those close to Martin to learn more.
For me the treatment of how Sal treated boyfriend Hugh rang pretty unrealistic and made her an unlikable character. The story meanders a lot and utilizes the trope of switching back and forth on time frames. I began to lose sight of the point of Sal pursuing the Martin story and I didn't care as much as I should have about Martin's back story, his wife and daughter. I get this is a narrative about different POVs, but it wasn't a hit for me. Pub date 6/13/23. 368 pages. 2-stars.
Thank you, Scriber, Simon and Schuster, Marysue Rucci Books and NetGalley, for providing an eARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.
@netgalley #mythmakers #netgalley
For me the treatment of how Sal treated boyfriend Hugh rang pretty unrealistic and made her an unlikable character. The story meanders a lot and utilizes the trope of switching back and forth on time frames. I began to lose sight of the point of Sal pursuing the Martin story and I didn't care as much as I should have about Martin's back story, his wife and daughter. I get this is a narrative about different POVs, but it wasn't a hit for me. Pub date 6/13/23. 368 pages. 2-stars.
Thank you, Scriber, Simon and Schuster, Marysue Rucci Books and NetGalley, for providing an eARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.
@netgalley #mythmakers #netgalley
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