Write what you know and it will get published.
Apparently this formula was successful for Adam Davies' debut novel, The Frog King:: A Love Story (Riverhead), which came out last month.
Davies, who teaches at the University of Georgia, formerly held the title of editorial assistant at Random House -- or as Davies portrays it, a serf of the feudal publishing industry.
The story revolves around the life of Harry Driscoll, an editorial assistant at Prestige Publishing, a large publishing house in New York City. Since his hiring five years before, Harry has not been promoted, nor is he likely to be.
He dreams of being an editor, yet his antics at work do anything but give him credibility in the eyes of his evil supervising editor, Andrew Nadler, or anyone else for that matter. From spiking his coffee and misplacing manuscripts, to showing up late or not at all, Davies recalls scenes from Office Space, yet with more wit.
Although Davies' conversational writing style elicits laughs, it still retains easy readability and moderately elevated diction. Harry himself is a cliché-hating, dictionary-loving grammar snob. He even knows what OK signifies (olle korrect).
Struggling writers can also identify with Harry the "hairball," as he has been writing a manuscript but just can't seem to find a way to beat extreme procrastination and write something with value.
Besides being paid pittances for inane work he cannot bear to do -- primarily reading slush (unsolicited manuscripts) -- Harry involves himself in a serious relationship with his pretty fellow editorial assistant, Evie Goddard. He's in love with her but cannot vocalize it to her.
Harry's meaningless infidelities that Evie dubs "Dates" eventually kills the only redeemable part of his life, which climaxes when Harry has an affair with a powerful editor in order to further his career. He sabotages his relationship with Evie, who finally tires of his behavior and leaves him. Only then does he finally appreciate her and attempts to win back her love and his self-respect.
Davies establishes Harry's narrative voice early on in the text, which presents itself as the strongest part of the book. Harry's first person narration is hilarious to those familiar with the publishing industry and informative for those who are not: "All those years of schooling (Yes I can speak Old English) and résumé-building bullshit (Yes I interned on Capitol Hill!) didn't pertain at all to the life that was waiting for me...It was like I had been airlifted to an uninhabited desert island with only a piñata and a bundt pan and was told, Well, that should do it. Good luck."
Davies offers juicy tidbits about the backstabbing cutthroat world of publishing, but it often takes a back seat to Harry's self-centered rants about his peasant-like existence in Manhattan. Davies makes interesting observations about the subtleties of life, describing vividly the setting of New York City, from the subway at Astor Place to his filthy illegally rent-controlled apartment in Alphabet City.
The reader sympathizes with Harry's flawed character, who has "never been the kind of person who learns lessons." However, the first half of the book becomes slightly weighed down by Harry's constant self-involvement. The reader wants to pity Harry for his string of bad luck, but finds it difficult because most of his misfortunes he tragically and frustratingly self-inflicts.
Despite all of this, The Frog King:: A Love Story is a must-read for those brave enough to consider publishing as a future career and for those wanting a good laugh -- and a good cry.
