Thief of Words

by John Jaffe

Overview

- THIEF OF WORDS was published in Warner hardcover in 4/03 to wide critical acclaim. This edition ties in with Jaffe's new hardcover "Shenandoah Summer (Warner, 8/04).- With the same appeal as novels like "The Man Who Ate the 747 (Bantam, 2000) and films like "You've Got Mail and "Sleepless in Seattle, this impressive debut will be embraced by anyone who enjoys a funny, bittersweet, wildly romantic love story.- THIEF OF WORDS was inspired by the letters and e-mails that John Jaffe wrote while he was courting his current wife.- Foreign rights were sold in Germany and Italy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780446690553
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	04/01/2004
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.62(d)
Age Range:	13 Years

Editorial Reviews

"A thoroughly engaging romantic page-turner."

From the Publisher

If you fall head over heels for such heartwarming movies as You've Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle, then you're sure to be smitten by this 21st-century romantic comedy by a new talent to watch.

Divorcée Annie Hollerman has managed to move on with her life, so why plunge back into the dating pool? Then she meets Jack, a witty and charming guy who begins wooing Annie by sending e-mails rewriting her past...and placing himself in it. Little does he know, but Annie has an episode from her past that she's not willing to share . As light and sweet as meringue, this captivating tale is expertly crafted by a new star on the literary horizon. BTW-everyone will be reading it.

Literary Guild

Based on Jaffe's real-life romance with his wife, this debut novel proves that truth is cuter than fiction-regrettably so. Literary agent Annie Hollerman is in her mid-40s, a refugee from dead-end relationships and a promising newspaper career that ended in minor scandal when she was in her mid-20s. Journalist Jack DePaul, a 50-something Harrison Ford type, yearns for the fiery enthusiasm of his youth. A friend introduces them over e-mail, and after a blind date the two begin a passionate if cautious flirtation. Composed largely of Jack's missives, the book reads almost like his journal, with plenty of immediacy and in-the-moment energy, but little drama. There's a voyeuristic giddiness to the reader's enjoyment of Jack and Annie's letters, e-mails and phone calls, but the story of their affair has all the suspense of a nursery rhyme. At one point a psychic tells Annie she will meet a man surrounded by words. She can't believe it. The reader can. Only one brief moment of conflict threatens the lovers' happiness. At a business meeting, Jack's old girlfriend finds his e-mails to Annie and, in a fit of jealousy, tells Annie that Jack wrote the same e-mails to her. Fortunately, Jack happens to be editing a story about former reporters, and his writer needs to interview Annie. Before the reader has a chance to fret, Annie and Jack forgive each other and are reunited. This novel has the allure of familiarity, but there's little else to recommend it. Foreign rights sold in Germany and Italy. (Apr.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Divorced journalist romances again-maybe. Annie Hollerman didn't think she'd ever love again after leaving her rich but dull husband (her mother's nickname for him: the Cardboard Box). But her pal Laurie just won't shut up about Jack DePaul, 50-ish features editor for a Baltimore daily-and, once introduced, the two circle each other warily, not wanting to be hurt again. Jack is still getting over his affair with the married Kathleen, a self-absorbed beauty who was happy to meet him now and then for hot but meaningless sex but wouldn't leave her husband. Sadder but wiser, Jack ponders a big question: Could Annie, with her flowing, red-gold tresses, and fabulous cheekbones, be his soulmate? He woos her with carefully composed e-mails drawn on actual events in her life, in effect rewriting all her little sorrows and false starts into happy endings. Annie, however, doesn't dare admit the Awful Thing she did years ago that got her fired from a North Carolina paper. She hopes Jack will never discover what it was because he's sure to hate her when he does. They have so much in common, including a fondness for lattes and literature, casually quoting Tennyson and dismissing Raymond Carver in almost the same breath. It seems a match made in heaven, until a reporter actually does reveal the Awful Thing: Annie once plagiarized an article about inner-city housing and is still haunted by shame. Weepily, she reveals that her troubled family's penchant for white lies drove her to it. But Jack loves her nonetheless. Planning a romantic tryst in New York brings him to a swanky hotel where he falls into the clutches of wicked Kathleen, who looks at his laptop while he's otherwise occupied. Later, when Anniecalls, Kathleen informs her that Jack used to write things like that for her, too, so ha! Annie is heartbroken. Will the star-crossed lovers ever find the happiness they deserve? Contrived debut: pretentious, often silly. Literary Guild alternate selection. Agent: Esther Newberg/ICM

Kirkus Reviews