The Thieves of Manhattan

Oct 05, 2010 JAK rated it 4 of 5 stars

Had to interrupt the amazing Kraken to hit the NYC literary scene for a day or two....

Apr 23, 2013 Bill rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: literary, thriller

A Playful Romp Through the New York Literary World

Langer, Adam (2010). The Thieves of Manhattan. New York: Random/Spiegel & Grau.

In this novel, the protagonist (Ian) is a struggling writer from Indiana trying to break through in New York City, but he only manages to accumulate a mountain of rejection letters. He seethes with envy when a loudmouth pseudo-rapper publishes an obviously fraudulent memoir of his life on the streets “…All my homies still livin’ under the gun right here in Amerikkk...more A Playful Romp Through the New York Literary World

Langer, Adam (2010). The Thieves of Manhattan. New York: Random/Spiegel & Grau.

In this novel, the protagonist (Ian) is a struggling writer from Indiana trying to break through in New York City, but he only manages to accumulate a mountain of rejection letters. He seethes with envy when a loudmouth pseudo-rapper publishes an obviously fraudulent memoir of his life on the streets “…All my homies still livin’ under the gun right here in Amerikkka. You know who you are. Keep runnin’, keep gunnin’.”

Ian has a Romanian girlfriend who speaks fractured English but is writing her own memoir of her impoverished childhood in Bucharest “…neffer confuse my life weeth my feection; feection is not nearly so tredjic.” Annoyingly to Ian, she signs with a prominent but supremely arrogant agent who spices his language with Spanish phrases for no reason. These characters and others too, are all colorful and humorous. Langer has a playful approach to language in this book, and the writing is its main source of enjoyment:

“’Well,’ Jed Roth said, handing me a glass of faulkner with two ice cubes in it as I sat on his living room couch, ‘now you have some idea why Rowell Templen has my job and I have none, why Blade Markham has a book contract and you have none, why we’re two jobless men with enough free time to drink whiskey after midnight’” (p. 61).

But wait: what is “a glass of faulkner”? Well, most readers would assume it was just another word for whiskey, a meaning that can be derived from the sentence’s context, but the delight comes from the allusion to William Faulkner’s notorious appreciation of whiskey. This language game is perpetuated through the book. When the rapper puts his hands over his crotch, he is “covering his portnoy.” People carry popinses, not umbrellas, and smoke vonneguts, not cigarettes. Heavily framed glasses are didions.

This is a fun game, consistent with Langer’s excoriating satire of all aspects the writing and publishing world: writers, agents, editors, publicists, book reviews, television interviews, booksellers, and the reading public. The plot is itself is a meta-satire of modern experimental fiction, and does thoughtfully address a serious issue about the theory of the novel, the relationship between truth and fiction.

Superficially, it is a modern urban thriller involving an elaborate hoax and millions of dollars, but the unraveling is given away far too easily and too early, and in the end, everything just comes crashing down with loose ends left lying all over. However, I don’t think the book was intended primarily as a thriller, although it could be read with enjoyment as a weak one. Primarily it is intended as a social satire, a comment on the state of the modern novel, and a playful romp with some literary language. It achieves those goals with flourish. (less)

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Apr 17, 2013 Kiera Healy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a light, fluffy and ultimately very fun book that tells of a wannabe author in New York who finds himself embroiled in a fake memoir scam. It's a slow-burner - the opening chapters weren't too enticing, and the narrator didn't come across as particularly likeable at first, but things picked up and eventually ran helter-skelter to a crazy finale.

The second part of the novel is full of twists and turns, and there were a few surprises I certainly didn't expect. It's not particularly plausib...more

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Dec 15, 2012 Somi rated it 4 of 5 stars

How does an unknown, nondescript and unsuccessful writer become the main character in a real life, old-fashioned, crime adventure in modern day New York City? and not just any adventure but one full of suspense, intrigue and reeking of danger.

Ian Minot is a struggling short story writer from Indiana, living on his paltry inheritance from his father, almost broke, unsuccessful at publishing his stories, trapped in a wearisome job as a barista in a Manhattan cafe and soon to lose his brilliant gir...more How does an unknown, nondescript and unsuccessful writer become the main character in a real life, old-fashioned, crime adventure in modern day New York City? and not just any adventure but one full of suspense, intrigue and reeking of danger.

Ian Minot is a struggling short story writer from Indiana, living on his paltry inheritance from his father, almost broke, unsuccessful at publishing his stories, trapped in a wearisome job as a barista in a Manhattan cafe and soon to lose his brilliant girlfriend, the beautiful Romanian writer Anya.

Ian worries, about losing Anya, about his inheritance running out and about never making it as a writer. His stories are too small he has been told, what else can his stories be when all he has to draw upon is the small life he has lived. He watches as around him success comes to others; to Anya, whose stories of pain and hardship in Romania capture hearts all around and Blade Markham, whose seemingly implausibly violent yet tremendously sucessful memoir, Blade by Blade is, to Ian, “a bogus pile of crap”

Ian’s worse fears soon come to pass as he loses his girlfriend, first to the arrogant agent who had previously sent him the “most perfunctory, condescending and offensive rejection letter” he had ever received and then to Blade Markham. He realises that even his best efforts at writing seem to be going nowhere. At this low point he accepts an offer from mysterious former editor Jed Roth to pass off an old action adventure novel as a memoir so as to expose the fakes in the publishing world.

What appears to be a strange contract soon turns into a deadly adventure as the action packed life Ian has published soon really becomes his own. Nobody is who they seem to be, not Anya and least of all Jed Roth. With Ian’s life in danger from the very villains who seem to have come alive from the pages of his book, he takes us along as he runs for his life

The Thieves of Manhattan is Adam Langer’s fourth novel. Throughout the book Langer has you searching your memory for the sources of the remarkable terms from popular literature with which he describes ordinary things; a Canino is a gun, a Cheshire is a gleeful mischievous smile, Franzens are stylish eyeglasses, a Gogol is an overcoat, a Highsmith is a train and a Golightly is a slim elegant cocktail dress....... my best is Salinger, which means to live in seclusion like the reclusive author of ‘The Catcher In The Rye” J.D. Salinger.(less)

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Dec 10, 2012 Kathleen Wheeler rated it 4 of 5 stars

A friend loaned me The Thieves of Manhattan by Adam Langer recently and recommended I read it. Knowing I was a writer and aspiring author, this friend felt certain I would enjoy this story. I was at first skeptical; this book did not fall into the categories I devote my limited leisure time to read: classics like The Great Gatsby, Little Women or Wuthering Heights, or narrative nonfiction and self-help books similar to my own genre of writing.

What the heck? I decided to take a break from the nor...more

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Feb 28, 2012 Elie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I bought it because of a work I've to do at College.
You know how it is, they make you read a book and you often don't like it because it's not the kind you like to read, or just because you like to disagree with them.

Sure this book isn't one I'd have naturally grabbed in a bookshop. First, I didn't know the author, second what I knew about the American literature made me a little reluctant to pursue books belonging to it.

Work is work, and work sometimes surprises us.

I had to take notes while...more

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Sep 15, 2011 Nicole rated it 4 of 5 stars

I know you are all like, "Dang, Nic, where you been?" since it's been over a week since my last review, and the answer is that I have been in Europe. I read some books while there, but when I tried to review them early this week it came out as gobbeldy-gook.

Ok, ok, let's get to it. You are riding on a schooner on the ocean, and all is going well. It's languid and peaceful and you are enjoying the ride. Maybe even reading a good book and eating some fresh mozzarella with your Prosecco. You are c...more

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Jun 12, 2011 Jenny rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2010

What a unique and interesting book this was.... The Thieves of Manhattan is one of those cleverly written books that sort of has a book within a book. Sort of. It's hard to explain unless you read it. But basically it is a satirical take on the cutthroat publishing world which, of course, takes place largely in New York City. This book clearly also makes a mockery out of "fake memoirists" such as the famous A Million Little Pieces by James Frey scandal (which if you've been a reader for a while...more What a unique and interesting book this was.... The Thieves of Manhattan is one of those cleverly written books that sort of has a book within a book. Sort of. It's hard to explain unless you read it. But basically it is a satirical take on the cutthroat publishing world which, of course, takes place largely in New York City. This book clearly also makes a mockery out of "fake memoirists" such as the famous A Million Little Pieces by James Frey scandal (which if you've been a reader for a while I'm sure you know about but if not it's an author who released a memoir, was on Oprah and all that, then it was learned it was not true and he fabricated much of the main parts of the book). In fact, the author writes a lot about genuineness and the ironies associated with that. And in the end I'm not entirely too sure what the author's stance on it is... I think the purpose of him doing this was more an observation of the publishing industry itself rather than his opinion, per se.

The main character is Ian Minot who is an unpublished writer working at Morningside Coffee to pay the bills. He is dating a Ukranian woman, Anya, who is also a writer, and he despises Blade Markham, the latest celebrity memoirist whose memoir Ian thinks is a load of crap. Ian's short stories about his life haven't been picked up by any literary agents because while the writing is okay, there's just nothing exciting about it. Then a run-in with "the confident man" who thoroughly irritates Ian by spending time drinking coffee at Morningside Coffee while reading Blade Markham's book sends Ian's life in a tail spin that leads to his dreamt of involvement in publishing but also leads much further, threatening his life in addition to his integrity.

The Thieves of Manhattan is also very creatively done. The author included a 2-3 page "glossary of terms" in the back of the book to explain the words he's renamed according to their literary counterparts: he sleeps on a "proust":

n. A bed, particularly when used as the locus of inspiration, taken fro the favored location of the author Marcel Proust. (pg. 258)

He hopes that if published he will earn a large "Frazier":

n. a particularly large advance for a book, from Charles Frazier, author of Cold Mountain, who was rumored to have received a healthy seven-figure advance for his follow-up novel, Thirteen Moons. (pg. 256)

And he jeers at those novelists who try to appear stylish by wearing "Franzens":

n. the sort of stylish eyeglasses favored by the author, Jonathan Franzen. (pg. 256)

Langer "name drops" throughout whenever he's at some type of publishing party -- he refers to actual people/authors, literary agencies (and possibly agents though I couldn't be sure), and publishers. It made me wonder if he had to have their permission or not, but it was interesting to see everyone appear in the book (including a literary agency I've reviewed books for!). The book is broken up into three parts, and each part is broken up into short "chapters" which are titled and appear randomly wherever they start on the page (meaning the chapters aren't necessarily broken apart by a page). The style made it an easy read. I admit some parts of the book made me laugh out loud and other parts had much more subtle humor, some of which probably flew over my head since I'm not really in the industry. However, I do wonder if those completely outside the industry (because as a book blogger and a wannabe one day author I have actually learned an immense amount about how things work) would be that interested in the plot of this book. It's hard for me to be objective and decide. The ending (like the last fourth or so) was strange for me because it was unrealistic -- which is ironic, but I can't say more to explain that.. you'd have to read it -- cryptic enough? LOL.

All in all, was an interesting and creative book. Ultimately, I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I had expected, but it was still good.

Taken from my blog at www.takemeawayreading.com (less)

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May 15, 2011 Ashland Mystery Oregon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-us-new-york

Sometimes a trade paperback with an interesting title can disappoint – you think its mystery or crime fiction and then, ten pages in, you find it’s not. Well, The Thieves of Manhattan by Adam Langer is one of these – a trade paperback with an interesting title that suggests mystery and it’s not. But to my delight, it did not disappoint and I sped through the work in a matter of hours, enjoying every word.

The Thieves of Manhattan is a literary thriller that derisively details the faux glories of...more Sometimes a trade paperback with an interesting title can disappoint – you think its mystery or crime fiction and then, ten pages in, you find it’s not. Well, The Thieves of Manhattan by Adam Langer is one of these – a trade paperback with an interesting title that suggests mystery and it’s not. But to my delight, it did not disappoint and I sped through the work in a matter of hours, enjoying every word.

The Thieves of Manhattan is a literary thriller that derisively details the faux glories of the New York publishing in-crowd. Written from the pov of Ian Minot, a writer of soft, thoughtful stories that don’t get published, it’s a story within a story about a story about a hoax – or perhaps hoaxes. Peel back that onion, why don’t you, and you’ll see just one of the reasons why the book is so clever.

Carl Hiaasen blurbed the edition I read: “Sly and cutting riff on the book-publishing world that is quite funny unless you happen to be an author, in which case this novel will make you consider a more sensible profession – like being a rodeo clown, for example, or a crab fisherman in the Bering Sea.” Hiaasen blurb seems so right on – literary agents, old family publishing houses and imprints that have to bring in big-buck books, the launch parties and salons, the celebrity, the jealousy and anger and self-promotion to get noticed, get ahead, get published. The Thieves of Manhattan seems written to exorcise the demons of that world, to expose it in all of it’s absurd machinations.

Another reason to love the book is the wonderfully pronounced characters that abound, bigger than real life, just like Manhattan. There’s Blade Markham, who’s white-boy trash talk boosts his book Blade By Blade, filled with improbable events; The Confident Man, Jed Roth who cultivates Ian for a mysterious, and as the reader can’t help to presume, nefarious purpose; Anya Petrescu is Ian’s Romanian girlfriend- soon –ex, when her writing becomes celebrated by the literary elite, leaving Ian in the shadows.

Adam Langer is definitely a New Yorker, probably not by birth or heritage because his outsider perspective is too evident in the narrative. Being an outsider and becoming an insider is one of Ian’s and the novel’s transformative characteristics. Langer is clearly an adoptive son of the city and shows his insider status with his familiar, neighborhood-like treatment of the city’s haunts, it’s coffee shops, local bars and clubs, apartment buildings and streets.

Finally, one of the funniest things about the work is Langer’s use of language. He’s crafted a new literary/pop vocabulary that adds such a fun, serendipitous and thoughtful aspect to the read. Lest the reader remain an outsider and miss some of the insider references, Langer includes a glossary of terms. Here’s just a few: chabon-n.-a wavy mane like the one worn by Michael Chabon; gogol-n.-an overcoat, from Nikolai Gogol’s The Overcoat; lish-v-to savagely and mercilessly edit, from Gordon Lish, the legendary editor at Esquire and Knopf, who is particularly know for the influence he had on the unadorned style of Raymond Carver; palahniuk-v.-to vomit, taken from the name of the author Chuck Palahniuk, whose works are often said to have a particularly visceral effect on sensitive readers.

To my regret, I can’t imagine that there could be another Ian Minot thriller, but I will read Adam Langer’s previous works: Crossing California, The Washington Story, and Ellington Boulevard. And I do hope that Langer has more New York City stories to come.

-Ashland Mystery
(less)

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May 08, 2011 Spencer Schankel rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved "The Thieves of Manhattan" by Adam Langer. A well wrought premise, at first neatly told and with little literary conceits that are down right amusing: a golightly is a cocktail dress as in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and a faulkner is a whiskey, and so on. There is even a glossary of terms. Imagined or not, it is an interesting glimpse into the publishing world that seems dimmer everyday; smug agents, posers, flash-in-the-pan best selling authors, clueless publishers. A book where most char...more

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Mar 12, 2011 Greg Zimmerman rated it 4 of 5 stars

In the acknowledgments at the end of his hilarious new novel The Thieves of Manhattan, Adam Langer doles out "thanks to all the fake memoirists, fictional poets, literary forgers, and hoaxers who have provided such great inspiration." That's funny because it's true — this novel IS an inspired piece of fiction. It's a skewering of the publishing industry. It's an adventure tale, complete with a treasure hunt. And it's a treasure trove of inside jokes for literary geeks (Philip Roth signs a book t...more In the acknowledgments at the end of his hilarious new novel The Thieves of Manhattan, Adam Langer doles out "thanks to all the fake memoirists, fictional poets, literary forgers, and hoaxers who have provided such great inspiration." That's funny because it's true — this novel IS an inspired piece of fiction. It's a skewering of the publishing industry. It's an adventure tale, complete with a treasure hunt. And it's a treasure trove of inside jokes for literary geeks (Philip Roth signs a book to a smarmy literary agent: To Geoffrey, a true human stain...Cigarettes are called "vonneguts"...Trendy glasses are called "franzens".)

Ian Minot is a Manhattan coffee slinger, trying desperately to publish his short stories before the dregs of his inheritance run out. His girlfriend, Anya, has become a rising star, earning a deal to publish a book of short stories about her childhood in Romania. (Would she have gotten a deal if she wasn't from somewhere exotic?) When Ian, desperate for publishing fame, enters into a scheme to publish a fake memoir with a former book editor looking for revenge on an industry he believes has lost its soul, things go a bit awry. The line blurs between real life and fiction. And Ian finds himself running for his life.

The James Frey fiasco shines through clear as day (two chapters are even titled "Bright, Shiny Morning" and "A Million Little Pieces") as the go-point for this book. But with all the great jokes (see below for another), some hilarious caricatures, like an ebonics-spouting fella named Blade who becomes the toast of the literary world when he publishes a memoir about his gangsta life, and with the morph into adventure novel as the rubber meets the road on Ian's fake memoir plot, the novel moves way beyond what could have been a too-simple 250-page insult to Frey and other fakers.

At times you feel like Langer himself is angry or disillusioned, that he has his own axe to grind. At one point, he writes: "In the press, these hoaxes were viewed mostly as symptoms of a declining industry struggling for relevance and attention and a society of declining morals." More often, though, you get the sense he's just being funny — and it's pretty clear he had a blast writing this book.

For anyone interested in how the publishing industry works (or doesn't), and who enjoys a good laugh at its expense, this is a must. It's a slim little book, written specifically for literary nerds. And it's a whole lotta fun!

Another literary joke: Langer setting the scene at a party: "There was a trio of drunk writers, all named Jonathan, each of whom was complaining that the Times critic Michiko Kakutani had written that she'd like their earlier books better."(less)

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Jul 23, 2010 Felice rated it 3 of 5 stars

What a crack up! Author Adam Langer has taken James Frey, publishing insiders, misery memoirs, the stereotypical Manhattan artist scene and written a funny, funny novel. His hero Ian Minot, a failed writer, is a classic bad luck Shleprock. He can't get anything right and his timing is worst of all. His lack of success is thorough. He can't get his work published and his immigrant Romanian girlfriend, the current darling of the publishing world as a result of her memoir of life under Ceausescu, i...more

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Jul 18, 2010 Cynthia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-in-2010

"Thieves" is magically entertaining. I loved Langer's wonderfully inventive literary references. Famous author's names can become verbs or evocative nouns such as when Ian, the main character, gets fed up with his crazy life and wants to pull a salinger, meaning he wants to hide away for awhile a la JD Salinger. People at upscale literary readings and parties drink faulkners (whiskey) or fitzgeralds (gin rickys), they wear ecklebergs or franzens, both forms of eyeglasses.

In the beginning Ian, a...more

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Jul 13, 2010 Tilly marked it as to-read

How many novels begin with a Milli Vanilli quote? In the case of the funny and sharp The Thieves of Manhattan, by Adam Langer , the lyric “Girl you know it’s true” is particularly apt, as this clever tale blurs fact and fiction to riotous effect.
Ian Minot is a disgruntled coffee barista who yearns to crack the literary world’s inner circle, but no one seems to want to publish his sensitive short fiction. Not helping matters is Blade Markham, author of a best-selling street memoir that may or may...more

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Jul 07, 2010 Fiona added it

Read it for work. It's a really well-told story, and it drew me in by the end despite my initial I've-been-read-Tolstoy-and-everything-else-sucks-by-comparison feelings. He has a linguistic gimmick which is sort of nice -- using author's names as nouns, e.g. "hammet" for "bullet" or "hemingway" for "well-constructed sentence," but all nice feelings you have about it die when you notice a) there's a glossary in the book — like anyone interested in books enough to read this incredibly insidery pub...more

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Oct 15, 2010 Jenny rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book from the get-go, but the author really too it up a notch about two-thirds of the way through. It was a great read; a lot of that came from the insider knowledge of publishing - it's a huge wink-and-nod to that - but I think anyone could enjoy it. I read the glossary first, and there are a few terms I wish would become common usage (e.g the verb "lish," meaning to edit savagely; the verb "kerouac," meaning to drive cross-country). Overall, really entertaining and invent...more I really enjoyed this book from the get-go, but the author really too it up a notch about two-thirds of the way through. It was a great read; a lot of that came from the insider knowledge of publishing - it's a huge wink-and-nod to that - but I think anyone could enjoy it. I read the glossary first, and there are a few terms I wish would become common usage (e.g the verb "lish," meaning to edit savagely; the verb "kerouac," meaning to drive cross-country). Overall, really entertaining and inventive, and "meta" without making a big deal about itself; it reminded me a little of The Imperfectionists, maybe because of the industry focus, because that was an entirely different book.

"And maybe that was a good way to write a story, he thought - start with reality, take a vicious left turn, slam on the gas, never look back. Maybe all stories started with "What if?"" (46-47)

"I felt confident, not only in my ability to write stories and see them through to the end, but in my ability to do the same thing with my life. I could find another job, that wouldn't be hard; I could make my rent, millions of other people did; I would fall in love with someone else, and someday I'd look back at this period as the one that had prepared me for the rest of my life." (80)

"...or perhaps in some other foreign country whose language he didn't speak, one where it would take him a lifetime to understand what old traditions were passing, so he wouldn't regret their disappearance." (149)

"This pace might have been inconvenient for the industry as a whole, but it was phenomenally useful to the con artist who knew how to exploit the flaws of a world that spun at two different speeds." (152)

"I imagined what it must have felt like to be the Beatles in Hamburg." (156)

"But I couldn't help noticing some undercurrent of regret or resentment, as if perhaps what he had always wanted was coming true but far too late and not in the way he had intended." (170)

"...all these clues for a mystery that she still couldn't solve." (227)(less)

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Aug 13, 2010 Léna Roy rated it 5 of 5 stars

I had no idea that Adam was a writer, until he friended me on Facebook and I started getting announcements and reviews about his book: The Thieves of Manhattan: A comic literary thriller in which a down-on-his-luck writer finds himself ensnared in a web of deceit when he puts his name to a fake memoir.

It's his fifth book, mind you, so I don't know what planet I've been on. Planet Mommy, Planet Writer. Adam was another parent of a delightful girl at my daughter's pre-school. We had talked parenti...more

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Aug 02, 2010 warren Cassell rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was very much persuaded by the advance hype for the fictional Thieves of Manhattan, a satirical look at the publishing/book industry, with all of its distinctive foibles. Real big name players and a smattering of thinly disguised denizens pepper this usually humorous novel. Unfortunately, it seems to run out of steam during the last chapters of a tall, but until then, believable tale. (But does it? Believability or its lack is the whole point.)

This is the story of an up and coming writer who...more

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Jul 23, 2011 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011

An ultimately forgettable caper that takes place in the world of New York authors, literary agents, editors, would-be authors, and coffee-shop employees. My main problem with this book is that pretty much every aspect of it has been done better elsewhere. The send-up of the literary scene in How I Became a Famous Novelist is about ten times funnier. Mr. Peanut stands out as a recent example of a better novel that plays around with its own structure (other comparisons are surely possible). And th...more

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Nov 04, 2010 Lori Anderson rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 25, 2011 Tori rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

What a satisfying read!!!!! I have been reading a LOT this summer - and, surprisingly, this is probably my favorite book! The writing was good, and the story fascinating and fun and well-paced. Not especially thought-provoking or profound, but different and just well-crafted. The author, Adam Langer, has written about a would-be author, Ian Minot, who can't get anything published, but is very tempted to write a fake memoir that a "friend" had written as a novel, but which would sell better as a...more

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Sep 07, 2010 Kathy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, crime-and-mystery, reviewed

Adam Langer's "fourth novel or second memoir" is structured like a sheet of paper folded into eighths. Only two pieces of information are visible on the first leaf: (a) narrator Ian Minot is a pretentious prat with literary ambitions and a low-wage job, while (b) the darlings of the NYC book scene are untalented but convincing phonies. A reader able to hang on through this first section is rewarded when the author opens the first fold and reveals a whole new world, that of the writer Ian decides...more

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Aug 01, 2010 Aaron Poorman rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: subliminalmaybe

If by chance you are an aspiring writer this book's view of the publishing world might really bum you out. When a book is labeled as 'literary' it seems a somewhat natural response to brace for possible pretentiousness. Books about books can indeed be redundant and often miss the mark ; writer protagonists face a daunting task, because referencing other works may only remind readers of those works, thereby drawing attention to an authors inferiority. This is not the case with The Thieves of Manh...more

If by chance you are an aspiring writer this book's view of the publishing world might really bum you out. When a book is labeled as 'literary' it seems a somewhat natural response to brace for possible pretentiousness. Books about books can indeed be redundant and often miss the mark ; writer protagonists face a daunting task, because referencing other works may only remind readers of those works, thereby drawing attention to an authors inferiority. This is not the case with The Thieves of Manhattan. Adam Langer's approach shows his literary chops in a playful way that grows more endearing as the novel progresses. He does this by referencing books through descriptive slang - rather than in some long dramatic monologue by an annoyingly well-read character. For example ; A well groomed mustache is a Steinbeck. A pervert is a Humbert. A mischievous grin, a Cheshire. To puke, is to Palahniuk. All of these references may seem like s lot to remember.( there is a glossary in the back for those you might miss) However, much like the use of Nadsat in A Clockwork Orange Langer's slang is something I picked up quickly and really grew to appreciate.

As mentioned above Langer's protagonist, Ian Minot, is a writer. Ian is struggling to sell his short stories. Rejection letters note that his characters are small and quiet people who don't do enough, nothing is a stake for them. The success of both Blade Markham - a supposed former gang member and drug addict, and Ian's Romanian girlfriend Anya, only makes things worse. Blade's memoir is a mega-hit and Ian can't seem to escape his gangsta grill on billboards and TV. Anya is a short story writer like Ian, yet her past in Bucharest is both beautiful and heart-breaking. Her stories and her looks have made her a darling in the eyes of potential agents and publishers. This is where " The Confident Man " enters the story. The man is a regular at the coffee shop where Ian works. He comes in every day and sits down to read his copy of Blade By Blade. This naturally frustrates a resentful Ian. Shortly after being dumped by Anya, and verbally threatened by Blade, Ian blows up. When the confident man walks in Ian snatches the book away and hurls it out the door. Ian is fired on the spot and leaves fuming. The confident man is waiting down the street. It turns out that he was testing Ian. The man whose name is actually Jed Roth has a plan, but he needs Ian in order to make it work. Roth explains that he too detests Blade Markham's book, and even left his job as an editor over it's publication.

Roth's scheme for revenge is simple. Write a fake memoir ala James Frey, sell it to publishers as fact. Then when the time is right ( after they've cashed the checks ) reveal to the public that the book is all lies. This will crush the publishers reputation, but still leave Ian as a known entity. Having read Ian's stories before as unpublished submissions, Roth knows they won't sell. Unless of course people know his name. The Thieves of Manhattan is the book the two create together. The plot involves an authentic first edition of The Tale of Genji, a library fire, a beautiful stranger, a thieving librarian, a crooked antiques dealer, and of course the hero, Ian who supposedly lived it all. Like any good adventure novel it also includes chases, gunfights, and true love.

This is all setup for a face-paced story that shares some qualities with the pulpy works Ian's 'memoir' evokes. The chapters are short and often end on cliffhangers or Scheherazades, as Langer calls them. It will keep you reading as fast as any good thriller can. ( I finished it in less than 24 hours ) The humor is solid as well. There are very few books that have consistently made me laugh. Humor is a hard thing to nail in writing, at most funny fiction gets a few smirks and chuckles from me. While I wasn't physically laughing at Thieves I found myself smiling frequently which is probably the best a reader has the right to hope for.

I really enjoyed this book, and recommend it to anyone and everyone who enjoys reading. 259 pages isn't asking much from the reader. Without question The Thieves of Manhattan is worth the day or two it takes to finish. Perhaps the biggest compliment I can give a book which has been dubbed 'literary' is that it made me want to read the books it referenced. Most notable of those which I haven't yet read but now want to is Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep which is alluded to in Langer's term for gun, Canino. Initially I tried winning this book through goodreads. I didn't win but was still siked when I saw it at the library the next day. It's the most entertaining novel I've read in a while, and the best of the summer so far.

*Review w/ song can be found here
http://www.subliminalmaybe.blogspot.com/(less)

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May 22, 2011 Ethan Clark rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Ethan by: Kismet

Shelves: biography-memoirs, favorites, romance

Originally, I discovered this book several months ago at a closing discount sale for Carpe Librum, purchasing twelve other stories in the process as well. I was looking for a quick read to end the school year with, and this book seemed to fit the requisite.

The single-sentenced blurb on the back makes you yearn for more about the tale, and for good reason; in the first one hundred pages alone a masterful world is crafted around the corruption of the publishing industry and the men that are tryin...more Originally, I discovered this book several months ago at a closing discount sale for Carpe Librum, purchasing twelve other stories in the process as well. I was looking for a quick read to end the school year with, and this book seemed to fit the requisite.

The single-sentenced blurb on the back makes you yearn for more about the tale, and for good reason; in the first one hundred pages alone a masterful world is crafted around the corruption of the publishing industry and the men that are trying to scam it. Though I have to disagree with the protagonistic writers about how only nonfiction and memoirs sell, I can understand that it was necessary for the story's progression. Apart from the vivid descriptions and meating out of characters, what sets this book apart originally is the vocabulary compiled from various eponymns and allusions, a helpful glossary placed in the back that I discovered after the main character mentioned a similar key in the story that he had to read (it sounds confusing, but trust me when I say that it makes more sense in context).

At the rate this story was going, this book had the makings of a fairly decent tale about toppling giants with an inconceivable plot of deception that could have granted it a three-star rating and a ticket to Oblivion. In the third part, though, things take a turn for the mind-blowing as an entirely new truth is discovered. I must refrain myself from giving away too much, but the beginning quote of the third section sums it up rather effectively: "Now we find, too late, that these distractions were clues." It's not a twist that will leave you pondering over what exactly has just occurred, but I can attest to the fact that it will make you think, "Whoa, I wasn't expecting that curveball." You think the characters are leading these quiet little lives by the middle, but just you wait for the conclusion.

In short, this is a really good memoir/fiction/novel/short story that rewards a thorough read-through with the protagonist's maturing through the chapters and the larger truth found hovering omnipresently above all of the plot-twists and revelations. With all of that in mind, Thieves of Manhattan is a book that I must urge you to read for its enlightening view on the publishing world and the writers in it vying for a name up in lights. I's only 253 pages, so it shouldn't take you long to complete.(less)

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Oct 11, 2010 Bookmarks Magazine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: nov-dec-2010

Crime caper meets metafictional satire of the publishing industry in this mischievous novel, says the New Yorker about this postmodern work, which skewers the publishing industry as it examines the meaning of truth and fraud. Snarky, clever, and preposterous, yet somehow credible (James Frey comes to mind), The Thieves of Manhattan kept critics on their toes. Yet while most critics enjoyed (or at least "got") Langer's name-dropping and insider vocabulary (a "poppins" is an umbrella, "franzens" a...more

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Jul 22, 2010 Trin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: american-lit, booksaboutbooks, mystery

Sometimes I worry that there's something recursive—or even, yes, vaguely masturbatory—about reading books about books. But I love them; I read them constantly; I may have what you'd call a bit of a problem. Perhaps the reason I can't seem to let a literary satire or reader's memoir pass me by is that I know from the start that—to very loosely paraphrase Woody Allen—I'll be reading a book about a subject I love: books.

Last year it was Steve Hely's How I Became a Famous Novelist that earned my ard...more Sometimes I worry that there's something recursive—or even, yes, vaguely masturbatory—about reading books about books. But I love them; I read them constantly; I may have what you'd call a bit of a problem. Perhaps the reason I can't seem to let a literary satire or reader's memoir pass me by is that I know from the start that—to very loosely paraphrase Woody Allen—I'll be reading a book about a subject I love: books.

Last year it was Steve Hely's How I Became a Famous Novelist that earned my ardor. The target of Hely's affectionate skewering are the "literary" blockbusters that tend to cling like limpets to the top of The New York Times' bestseller list. As part of a get-rich-quick/spurned-lover's-revenge scheme, Hely's protagonist devises a formula for bestsellerdom and swiftly hammers out his literary masterpiece, The Tornado Ashes Club. Yes, that title alone should be enough to do it: I'll pause for a moment here to let your snort and cringe and remember your book club's worst excesses.

Fortunately, those past mistakes can be remedied by Adam Langer's The Thieves of Manhattan, which has a bit of old school adventure and a dash of film noir thrown in with its playful poking at the rather ripe target of memoirs. Ian Minot, a sad-sack, down-on-his-luck barista—a.k.a, an unpublished writer—finds himself embroiled in scheme (those pesky buggers are everywhere!) to rewrite a stranger's failed novel as a TRUE STORY starring none other than Ian Minot. When this exciting and heartwarming tale lands on the bestseller lists, Ian, the plan goes, will then reveal that it was all fake--thus, says his new benefactor, humiliating the publishing executives who did them both wrong. Sounds foolproof, right?

Of course things get completely out of control, in an enjoyable madcap Hitchcockian style. But what really made me stop and savor The Thieves of Manhattan—and How I Became a Famous Novelist, as well—were the examinations of the creative urge and the question of how to honestly express oneself in a commercial world, artfully sprinkled amongst the shenanigans. A satire that isn't entirely cynical—that seems as rare and delicate a creature as a memoir that really is entirely true.

So, fine. In the spirit of all the honesty we're cultivating here, I'll admit: I did not "stop and savor" The Thieves of Manhattan at all. I raced through it in less than a day. Like a certain type of lie, leaping off the tongue, it wasn't something I could help. It felt too damn good.

[Honest confession No. 2: Effusive review + moderate rating = I wrote this for work.](less)

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Jun 11, 2011 Christopher Rex rated it 3 of 5 stars

It wasn't what I expected. I mean that, mostly, in a good way. I read the book in 3 days, which certainly shows it was engaging and easy to read. It's a fun book, but nothing that is going to blow you away at all. Truth be told, I was expecting more humor (both dry and dark). Any book w/ a cast of struggling authors, grifters, wannabe actors and artists, scumbag editors and publishers really seems to be open to a lot more self-degrading humor and bashing. It fell pretty flat in that regard. But,...more

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Sep 23, 2010 Vicki rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: library-books, novels

I am normally put off by books about writing books, which I have found to be an irritatingly common topic. There's writing what you know, and then there's not having any imagination at all. The fact that this book was about writing several books did not bother me as much as it could have because it was so clever and funny and wrapped in a noirish adventure tale.

But some parts of it were just a bit too cute. I was actually charmed at first by the literary references, but after Ian read the manus...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Larry Hoffer added it

Write a review...This book is an amazingly clever, entertaining, literature-loving romp. Adam Langer has written three previous books, all of which I've loved, but nothing he's written before prepared me for The Thieves of Manhattan. If you like literature, this book is truly a fun adventure.

Ian Minot is a writer struggling to find success. He keeps submitting his stories for publication, only to constantly receive rejection notices, while at the same time, his Romanian girlfriend, Anya, is on...more

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Jul 30, 2011 Aoi Bae rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is one of the few books that I picked up without really knowing what it was going to be about.

It seemed pretty normal in the beginning.. the usual characters that are expected for plots focused on the 'behind-the-scene' of publishing were present. However, I was caught by surprise when the novel twisted into absolute chaos. I had to keep reading but when I finished the entire novel, I was not very satisfied. One of the main reasons being that the characters didn't seem to actually wrap up...more

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