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Blind Submission: Book Review
Books about the publishing industry never perform well with publishers, or so thinks Angel Robinson in Blind Submission. Angel is a literary agent protégé whose life takes a plot twist in prolific author Debra Ginsberg's debut novel. All the more challenging is the book is set in the foggy distance of San Francisco, far from the publishing core of New York City. Though anyone with a remote appreciation for the crazed ordeals of Literary agents and desperate authors trying to breakthrough the submission barrier will feast in Ginsberg's humor. It's not just a treat for publishing insiders, but a comedic mystery for readers who love books. Ginsberg's heroine, Angel Robinson, exemplifies the fantasy life of a reader. From working at an independent bookstore, to a heated romance with a struggling writer, she finds herself employed by a prestigious literary agency. As Angel proves her worth with a stellar eye for gems in the slush pile, she also experiences a metamorphosis from bookworm to powerbroker. Unfortunately it's at the mercy of a twisted phantom author who plots a submission that thrust her down the rabbit hole of publishing's inner sanctum. We know that the industry loves to publish the literary side of sex, drugs, rock and roll, but do they actually live that triad of success? There is enough savvy in Ginsberg's penetrating novel, along with an almost satirical knowledge of publishing, to remind one that truth lurks in fiction. The hilarious, and if you've worked in publishing-tear inducing, hysterics of the authors who submit manuscripts is priceless. Not to mention that Angel's boss, Lucy Fiamma, is a composite of publishing divas, ala Judith Regan. The Fiamma Agency intimately resembles the smoke and mirrors existing in so many publishing operations, something only first hand experience could provide. Blind Submission also nudges the ridiculous phenomenon of celebrity cookbooks, the memoir craze and tackles publicity deception, all too familiar with James Frey's Million Little Lies. Though the characters are so engrossing and Ginsberg's humor so playful, that it risks no offense. This is a novel that's on par with what Robert Altman (R.I.P.) did with the film The Player for Hollywood. There are also nicely woven subtexts about the "created" nature of the publishing industry. Lucy Fiamma is an agent who knows all too well that bestsellers are cultivated, more than they are born in publishing. Angel's character embodies this transformation through a fascinating progression through the Fiamma Agency office. Outside Lucy's office, designed like a fortress of solitude, is the agency's lobby/reception area where Angel gets her start. There, Angel sheds her bookworm persona within a growing detachment from the other assistants. They are estranged workers, exhausted by the labor of finding the next big thing, grotesque creatures that grovel at Lucy's whim. Angel keeps her Nancy Drew wits about her and centers her love of books as the wrecking ball to jaded commercialism run rampant. A lesson, perhaps, Ginsberg may be reaching for or even just getting off her chest, Bravo. From Angel's rooted experience at a bookstore, she carries with her a passion for print and sympathy for authors. In an industry grown dependent on merchandising tie-ins and the façade of an insurmountable submission process, it has lost its character. Blind Submission, it seems, has found it personified in Angel Robinson, sexy bookworm that she is. The very bookstore she emerges from is the fictional Blue Moon Books, a name synonymous with the publishing legacy of Barney Rossest. Debra Ginsberg has lived the author's life herself; from waiting for her break (Waiting: True Confessions of Waitress), raising a gifted child (Raising Blaze: Bringing up an Extraordinary Son in an Ordinary World) to her own Ya-Ya Sisterhood (About My Sisters). All the while, nurturing her works with rare loyalty to her ingenious editor Sally Kim. As Lucy Fiamma tells Angel in Blind Submission, bringing a book to the world is like raising a child. This takes patience, sympathy, passion and a zest for the details that ensure sweet success.
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Contributor's Note
When the past meets future for Jason, the moment is fueled by a creative background in music, writing, film and philosophy providing a nexus of the complex world to come. He is currently a freelance writer and ghostwriter of books, articles and screenplays.
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Blind Submission: A Debut Novel from Debra Ginsberg
| Debra Ginsberg
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May, 2012
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