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Besserwisser: A Novel
*Besserwisser: A Novel was self-published in 2009 and is currently not. A version of the story might return someday, but only after hardcore revisions.*
Munich, 1990: American expat slacker Gordy Ford poses as a top Hitler scholar, all to impress a girl. Stuck in his scam, Gordy soon thinks he's stumbled onto a shocking historical discovery that's made him the target of a wannabe Neo-Nazi and shady Russian mafia. Besserwisser has comedy, satire, and a rowdy mix of literary and mystery fiction. Everyone's an impostor, and all get exposed despite their best efforts.
*Besserwisser (The Know-It-Alls) was self-published in 2009 and is currently not. A version of the story might return someday, but only after hardcore revisions.*
"A nifty lesson, delivered in a rousing plot." —IndieReader
"Confederacy of Dunces but set against the backdrop of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Besserwisser is a comical adventure that will keep you guessing." —The LL Book Review
"I particularly liked the deadpan humour but the author also manages to make Gordy sufficiently likeable (despite his many, many faults)." —Free Fiction Review
Munich, 1990: American expat slacker Gordy Ford poses as a top Hitler scholar, all to impress a girl. Stuck in his scam, Gordy soon thinks he's stumbled onto a shocking historical discovery that's made him the target of a wannabe Neo-Nazi and shady Russian mafia. Besserwisser has comedy, satire, and a rowdy mix of literary and mystery fiction. Everyone's an impostor, and all get exposed despite their best efforts.
*Besserwisser (The Know-It-Alls) was self-published in 2009 and is currently not. A version of the story might return someday, but only after hardcore revisions.*
"A nifty lesson, delivered in a rousing plot." —IndieReader
"Confederacy of Dunces but set against the backdrop of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Besserwisser is a comical adventure that will keep you guessing." —The LL Book Review
"I particularly liked the deadpan humour but the author also manages to make Gordy sufficiently likeable (despite his many, many faults)." —Free Fiction Review
ebook
First published September 1, 2009
21 people want to read
About the author
Steve Anderson
156 books27 followersLibrarian note:
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There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 3, 2011
The story starts out similar to "Foucault's Pendulum" with a made up conspiracy connected to some of Hitler's letters, and moves to a real discovery, a kidnapping, and some dark revelations. Initially the main character is presented as someone borderline paranoid schizophrenic, and later he becomes a normal person caught up in a zany set of co-incidents. The revelations near the end are great.
March 28, 2011
The title caught my attention (I majored in German), but I was hesitant seeing that there seemed to be no publisher behind it. The price was right, the reviews encouraging, and worst case, I figured it would have a place on my `shelf of shame' where I keep bad books as a source of inspiration for our writers' workshops. Initially, Gordy was a difficult protagonist to get behind, but I was once the only American in an office of eight Austrians and Germans and readily identified with his situation. I won't rehash the plot, but the story is very well written, an offbeat, dark comedy with a touch of suspense and I found myself quickly engaged. It reminded me somewhat of Thomas Berger's Reinhart trilogy. (CRAZY IN BERLIN is the first.) BESSERWISSER is not as wacky as Christopher Moore or as absurd as John Kennedy Toole's CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES, but if you lean toward literate, witty writers, you may well enjoy this. I did, and even ordered his other two Kindle titles.
July 29, 2012
This novel won't be to everyone's taste but I've given it 5 stars because:
1) it was very funny, provided you like deadpan humour;
2) it's well observed (I was in Germany at the time it was set and it chimed with some of my own experiences);
3) the central character, Gordy, is sufficiently likeable (despite his many, many faults) that I cared what happened to him (not always a given in fiction of this type);
4) it was different and original (I didn't think to myself, "oh no, not another novel about having one beer too many at the Munich Oktoberfest and then being unable to resist pretending to be a Fulbright scholar on the trail of revelations about Hitler etc etc"); and
5) I thought some of the less favourable reviews were a bit mean-spirited - this is a comic novel, for goodness' sake, it's not claiming to be "Moby Dick".
For a longer review, see http://www.paulsamael.com/blog/besser...
1) it was very funny, provided you like deadpan humour;
2) it's well observed (I was in Germany at the time it was set and it chimed with some of my own experiences);
3) the central character, Gordy, is sufficiently likeable (despite his many, many faults) that I cared what happened to him (not always a given in fiction of this type);
4) it was different and original (I didn't think to myself, "oh no, not another novel about having one beer too many at the Munich Oktoberfest and then being unable to resist pretending to be a Fulbright scholar on the trail of revelations about Hitler etc etc"); and
5) I thought some of the less favourable reviews were a bit mean-spirited - this is a comic novel, for goodness' sake, it's not claiming to be "Moby Dick".
For a longer review, see http://www.paulsamael.com/blog/besser...
October 23, 2010
I am insufferably pleased with myself for figuring out what "Besserwisser" means without resorting to a dictionary or babelfish.
I am quite happy with myself for choosing to read this entertaining romp of intrigue in Munich as Germany was nearing unification (coulda sworn it had already happened by the time of the story, but I didn't want to mess with my suspension of disbelief that much.)
The story takes a hard left turn into strange about halfway through, but that's okay. It's part of the entertainment. Ordinarily I would write something about threads of the story being woven like ribbons through a Bierfrau's Dirndl, but that would be trite, and the last thing I want to be about Besserwisser is trite.
As in life, there are pieces of the story left unresolved.
Like the pigeons.
I am quite happy with myself for choosing to read this entertaining romp of intrigue in Munich as Germany was nearing unification (coulda sworn it had already happened by the time of the story, but I didn't want to mess with my suspension of disbelief that much.)
The story takes a hard left turn into strange about halfway through, but that's okay. It's part of the entertainment. Ordinarily I would write something about threads of the story being woven like ribbons through a Bierfrau's Dirndl, but that would be trite, and the last thing I want to be about Besserwisser is trite.
As in life, there are pieces of the story left unresolved.
Like the pigeons.
June 20, 2011
I received a complimentary copy of Besserwisser from BookRooster.com in exchange for a written review, which is good because I don't think I would have picked up a copy. I have mixed feelings about it.
You can tell it is a first novel or at least one written early in a career. The writing seemed amateurish and clumsy at times. Some parts seemed strange and confusing while other parts were interesting and amusing. Occasionally, the editing was poor (misspelled words, improper grammar, etc.) which detracted from the story a bit. I like to read a book that is well edited, not something that is written like a college paper. There was a lot of extraneous information that didn't necessarily take away from the story, but didn't add much either. However, I liked the details of Munich itself. It wasn't too over-the-top descriptive. I thought this added to the story nicely. The first chapter was very confusing which made me dread reading the rest.
Gordy was a character. He had quite an imagination which made the book interesting to read as you were confused as to which was reality and which was his imagination gone wild. He seems like a guy that everyone knows in college; drinks too much, doesn't take life too seriously, funny things always happen to him. He made me laugh a few times.
Jane was a character that irritated me, not her character per se, but the way her voice was written. At times she sounded German, other times she sounded American. She lacked a German accent when speaking English which bothered me for some reason.
Overall, the book was not a bad read. There were parts that I really enjoyed and some that just bored me. However, as a whole, I found it rather confusing. There weren't any big surprises and it ended up being quite predictable.
You can tell it is a first novel or at least one written early in a career. The writing seemed amateurish and clumsy at times. Some parts seemed strange and confusing while other parts were interesting and amusing. Occasionally, the editing was poor (misspelled words, improper grammar, etc.) which detracted from the story a bit. I like to read a book that is well edited, not something that is written like a college paper. There was a lot of extraneous information that didn't necessarily take away from the story, but didn't add much either. However, I liked the details of Munich itself. It wasn't too over-the-top descriptive. I thought this added to the story nicely. The first chapter was very confusing which made me dread reading the rest.
Gordy was a character. He had quite an imagination which made the book interesting to read as you were confused as to which was reality and which was his imagination gone wild. He seems like a guy that everyone knows in college; drinks too much, doesn't take life too seriously, funny things always happen to him. He made me laugh a few times.
Jane was a character that irritated me, not her character per se, but the way her voice was written. At times she sounded German, other times she sounded American. She lacked a German accent when speaking English which bothered me for some reason.
Overall, the book was not a bad read. There were parts that I really enjoyed and some that just bored me. However, as a whole, I found it rather confusing. There weren't any big surprises and it ended up being quite predictable.
July 5, 2011
(I received a complimentary copy of this book from BookRooster.com to review)
I tried to like this book, I really did. The synopsis of it had me intrigued, and I love the genre. The writing, however, just wasn't good enough. The author (Steve Anderson) did tighten up a bit by the end and made it less of a struggle, but it still wasn't great. In my former life I was an English Grammar major, and I kept wishing that someone had a red editing pen feature for the Kindle.
The story starts at Oktoberfest with American Gordy lying to another researcher, telling him that he is a Fulbright scholar here to research a big secret about Hitler. From that point on, the game begins to truly FIND something that no one has discovered before in the archives regarding the most hated figure from history.
While reading this, I felt like every time Anderson got stuck in a plot point that he was bored with he threw in a beergarden or bar scene, got everyone drunk, and started anew the next morning. The story had the potential to go a lot further with development only it never got the opportunity to do so. I was left wanting so very much more, and just wishing that the main characters would grow up and acting like such idiots.
If you are looking for a light plot that is a fast read, you may enjoy this. If you are looking for an exciting plot, a plot with depth, or a plot that has twists and turns, you may be left wanting.
I tried to like this book, I really did. The synopsis of it had me intrigued, and I love the genre. The writing, however, just wasn't good enough. The author (Steve Anderson) did tighten up a bit by the end and made it less of a struggle, but it still wasn't great. In my former life I was an English Grammar major, and I kept wishing that someone had a red editing pen feature for the Kindle.
The story starts at Oktoberfest with American Gordy lying to another researcher, telling him that he is a Fulbright scholar here to research a big secret about Hitler. From that point on, the game begins to truly FIND something that no one has discovered before in the archives regarding the most hated figure from history.
While reading this, I felt like every time Anderson got stuck in a plot point that he was bored with he threw in a beergarden or bar scene, got everyone drunk, and started anew the next morning. The story had the potential to go a lot further with development only it never got the opportunity to do so. I was left wanting so very much more, and just wishing that the main characters would grow up and acting like such idiots.
If you are looking for a light plot that is a fast read, you may enjoy this. If you are looking for an exciting plot, a plot with depth, or a plot that has twists and turns, you may be left wanting.
June 18, 2011
Will I sound like your grandpa if I say, “I can’t believe it’s been over twenty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall?” I was afraid of that. "Besserwisser" takes place in 1990, at a time of political upheaval in Germany. Split into two countries, East Germany and West Germany, since World War II, this story takes place shortly after the dismantling of the Berlin Wall and immediately prior to the reunification of the two countries.
Gordy Ford is a slacker from America, temporarily living in Germany, ostensibly to write a book. What starts out as a lie to impress a girl turns into reality as Gordy claims he’s researching a revelation about Hitler that will be a bombshell. This attracts attention from several groups with their own agendas. A visiting friend, convinced that Gordy has stumbled onto something, convinces him to search for what some people apparently want left unrevealed. What makes this story unique is how Anderson integrated glimpses of the German culture and politics from this critical period along with American pop culture references into the story.
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog.**
Gordy Ford is a slacker from America, temporarily living in Germany, ostensibly to write a book. What starts out as a lie to impress a girl turns into reality as Gordy claims he’s researching a revelation about Hitler that will be a bombshell. This attracts attention from several groups with their own agendas. A visiting friend, convinced that Gordy has stumbled onto something, convinces him to search for what some people apparently want left unrevealed. What makes this story unique is how Anderson integrated glimpses of the German culture and politics from this critical period along with American pop culture references into the story.
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog.**
December 11, 2010
This was certainly an entertaining read. I enjoyed seeing Munich through the eyes of two young Americans. I have been to Germany several times, but have always experienced it as a tourist, not the everyday man. Mr. Anderson has clearly spent a lot of time in Munich; or he simply had me fooled. However, I had a little trouble connecting with the characters. At any given time the main characters, Gordy, Jane and Tad, can come off as either a genuine good person or an asshole. After finishing the book I am still not exactly sure about Jane and what her role in everything was. But maybe that is my lack of comprehension.
And the idea of searching for the documents connecting Hitler to the Holocaust seems a bit of a stretch. Is there really any question whether or not Hitler ordered the Holocaust? I never knew there was any question of that. He was the Dictator of Germany and the leader of the nazi party. I cannot believe that anything went on that he was not only aware of, but also responsible for.
The book was okay, better than I could ever do and I enjoyed reading it.
And the idea of searching for the documents connecting Hitler to the Holocaust seems a bit of a stretch. Is there really any question whether or not Hitler ordered the Holocaust? I never knew there was any question of that. He was the Dictator of Germany and the leader of the nazi party. I cannot believe that anything went on that he was not only aware of, but also responsible for.
The book was okay, better than I could ever do and I enjoyed reading it.
September 14, 2011
I wouldn't have bought this if I hadn't read The Losing Role by the same author. This is quite enjoyable, but not as good as The Losing Role. I think that may be partly due to this being an earlier novel, and so the author's skills have improved, but it may also be that The Losing Role is the sort of book I'd usually read, whereas this was an unusual choice for me. The story is funny and believable, with interesting characters.
May 31, 2011
Pretty lame, but a pretty fast read.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews