Reacher Said Nothing: Lee Child and the Making of Make Me

Reacher Said Nothing: Lee Child and the Making of Make Me

by Dr Andy Martin (Author)

Synopsis

'I loved writing Make Me, and Andy Martin's Reacher Said Nothing gives you the how, why, when and where - warts and all.' - Lee Child WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS On September 1, 1994, Lee Child went out to buy the paper to start writing his first novel, in pencil. The result was Killing Floor, which introduced his hero Jack Reacher. Twenty years later, on September 1, 2014, he began writing Make Me, the twentieth novel in his number-one- bestselling Reacher series. Same day, same writer, same hero. The difference, this time, was that he had someone looking over his shoulder. Andy Martin, uber Reacher fan, Cambridge academic, expert on existentialism, and dedicated surfer, sat behind Lee Child in his office and watched him as he wrote. While Lee was writing his Reacher book, Andy was writing about the making of Make Me. Reacher Said Nothing is a book about a guy writing a book. An instant meta-book. It crosses genres, by bringing a high-level critical approach to a popular text, and gives a fascinating insight into the art of writing a thriller, showing the process in real time. It may well be the first of its kind. [Spoiler alert: if you haven't read Make Me yet, this book contains spoilers]

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 320
Publisher: Bantam Press
Published: 19 Nov 2015

ISBN 10: 059307663X
ISBN 13: 9780593076637
Book Overview: A book about the writing of a book - watch Lee Child write one of his bestselling Jack Reacher thrillers.

Media Reviews
Fascinating, literary criticism as never practised before, over the shoulder as the writer writes - properly compelling reading for anybody who likes Lee Child novels, which is to say anybody who enjoys thrillers, which is to say anybody who values being told a story....revelatory...[Child says] I don't begin with the writer: I begin with the reader. He does - and that's why he is the most commanding brand in fiction now. -- David Sexton * Evening Standard *
I found it very entertaining. Until Child can be persuaded to publish his own version of Stephen King's On Writing, I think it will be a wise investment for anybody who wants to write popular fiction. -- Jake Kerridge * Daily Telegraph *
It is as if Jack Reacher wrote literary criticism instead of beating bad guys to death with his elbows...because of Child's eloquent fascination with his craft, this book happens to be a better manural of writing than any manual of writing. It's also a entertaining buddy-suspense movie. * Financial Times *
It's fascinating to watch the process of writing unfolding in real time...it shouldn't work - after all writing is a predominantly mental activity - and yet it does in a way that makes you wonder why no one's thought of doing this before....Andy Martin has created something new here: a fusion of literary criticism, biography and fly-on-the-wall meta-novel which serves as a remarkable insight into the creative process. * Spectator *
Love Jack Reacher? You'll have to enjoy this....revels in the minutiae you didn't realise you wanted to know. * Shortlist *
Author Bio
Dr Andy Martin is a lecturer in French literature and philosophy at the University of Cambridge. He has written books about Napoleon, Brigitte Bardot, Sartre and Camus, and surfing. He has also written for The Times, the New York Times, the Independent and Prospect magazine.