The characters are all in their own ways weak and unpleasant but that doesn't make them uninteresting. They have very human failings and I liked most of them in spite of themselves. The book laid out plenty for us to judge whilst perhaps reminding us that few people are perfect - even if they're less perverted than some of this motley bunch. As for the work itself, the publisher at one stage looks at the biographer’s manuscript and says, “This is shit. Improve a million times,” and I wondered whether this was a true quote hurled at Kureishi himself while he was wrestling with this book, a criticism that he didn’t quite take to heart, or if he did, resulted only in a half improved version. I suppose he set himself up with a tough challenge when, given the premise, this story is derived primarily from encounters between the biographer and his subject, and the supporting cast, and when all there is to work with is dialogue between the players about events that had occurred in the past. The only way I could reconcile myself to reading this book was to say, “It’s a book about a writer and a touchy subject: the writers’ biography. How would you feel if people went poking into your personal life trying to find skeletons in the closet?” As Emma digs into Kane's life and work, she learns he has published sixteen other novels, all similarly sadistic tales of stalking and murder. But who is he? How did he find her? And what else is he capable of? But I have to say, Kureishi's characters are perfect examples of a Freudian world in which everyone responds to their libido in a freewheeling, uninhibited way. In fact, a person's life trajectory is dictated by their privates. Fidelity is not possible, no one is happy with their spouses or partners for long, and there comes inevitable infidelity, adultery, and sexual depravity - an unavoidable reality that is much challenged and condemned by our social mores, albeit unsuccessfully.

Wildly entertaining, over-the-top at times, ridiculous, and heart-stopping. Throw all expectations out the window while reading and simply enjoy the roller coast. The madness of writing is the antidote to true madness”- one of the myriad of insights into writing and publishing that pepper this book, suggests just that: this is a writer’s novel, a novel about writers and their hangers-on, and one that discards pretensions of plot, character, pacing and all those other elements of craft that readers come to expect in a novel, but which writers consider necessary evils to accommodate when delivering a novel. As intense and thrilling as this book became, I will say that I did predict most of the twists early on. With that being said, it still did not take away from the excitement of this book. Overall, I really enjoyed the ride and it is my absolute pleasure to give this book an excellent review! (I promise I’m not just saying that to avoid retribution!) But what happens if that author feels insulted by your words and takes it personally? What if they want revenge!

The Last Word

The Last Word is a terrific game of cat and mouse —except the cat underestimates this clever mouse.

Kureishi expends a lot of space pontificating on the relationship between love and desire and whether both are compatible. It seems they are not, if honesty be made the judge. Emma is struggling with depression and house sitting a lonely beach house with her dog. At the suggestion of a neighbor, she reads a mad-slasher ebook and gives it the honest low rating it deserves. The mysterious author notices it, however, and starts sending Emma threatening messages, demanding her to take down her review or else. When she refuses, she gets the sensation that she's not alone at the house. Has the author really come to terrify her into removing her review?Not yet … this is a very well-kept secret. But I heard one of the producers saying that he’d be worth considering.”