Marx, Deceased [Hardcover]

Obsessively curious about what others will say after his death, a prolific novelist stages his own death. After craftily penning his own obituary, Stephen Marx disappears, leaving his wife, Miriam, the media and a celebrity-hungry critic, Noah Berg, to complete the task. As Noah and Miriam begin work on a critical evaluation of Marx's writings--becoming romantically entangled on the side--Marx resurfaces in San Francisco as "D. Mann," the latest literary sensation. When a clever journalism student discovers his identity, she and Marx make a deal that could clinch her career and end his.

When Twain gave Tom Sawyer the exquisite pleasure of watching his own funeral, he articulated the narcissistic fantasy of all writers. Here, Stephen Marx, the womanizing author of 13 much-praised novels, stages his own demise in order to hear what posterity has to say about him. He carefully crafts his death ("NOVELIST STEPHEN MARX LOST AT SEA," the headlines read, "PRESUMED DEAD"). The prominent critic Noah Berg?who was once cuckolded by the novelist?approaches Miriam Marx, the not-too-grief-stricken widow, on the seemingly innocuous errand of preparing a critical evaluation of her husband's work. In truth, Berg intends the article to be "his masterwork as a critic," as well as "his masterstrike of revenge." The scheme is derailed, however, by his sudden involvement with Miriam. The undead Marx, in the meantime, has surfaced in San Francisco, where he has launched a second literary career as the mysterious "D. Mann." (Get it?) His secret, however, is uncovered by an enterprising journalism student who makes a bargain with Marx that could make her career and end D. Mann's. Djerassi (Cantor's Dilemma; The Bourbaki Gambit) has had a varied career as a biochemist, writer and art patron. A writer of great intellectual range and facility, he is no craftsman. Many passages in the novel clank like rickety lab apparatus punctuated by the snorts and wheezes of strained gags and puns. But the pleasures of cleverness abound in this Rube Goldberg contraption of a book. Author tour. (Aug.) FYI:FYI: An excerpt from Marx, Deceased can be found on the author's Web page: http://www.djerassi.com.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In his new novel, Djerassi (Cantor's Dilemm, LJ 8/89), winner of the National Medal of Science for the development of the first oral contraceptive, grapples with issues of literary criticism, self-esteem, and the creative instinct. Despite having written 13 novels, in the process winning both the Pultizer Prize and a National Book Award, Stephen Marx still obsessively wonders how posterity will treat him. He decides to fake his own death and sit back and watch how the critics react. Complications arise when Marx's "widow" begins a relationship with a well-known literary critic and Marx?now posing as a novice novelist?meets a potential Marx biographer, a young journalism student who has overheard part of his plan to disappear. Unfortunately, a host of unsympathetic characters and a leaden writing style obscure the potentially interesting premise of the plot. Public libraries with comprehensive fiction collections might consider for purchase; others can skip.?Nancy Pearl, Washington Ctr. for the Book, Seattle
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Obsessed with critical opinion, successful novelist Stephen Marx fakes his own death to see how his work will be judged by history. The coda he has planned for his own career, though, represents the beginning of another's. When ambitious journalism student Sabine Diehldorf overhears Marx discussing his plan with his banker, she recognizes an opportunity to make a name for herself. By the time she tracks Marx down, he has anonymously penned another best-seller, making Sabine's scoop even juicier. Realizing he has been found out, Marx agrees to help her write the biography of the late Stephen Marx. Meanwhile, his "widow," Miriam, who has literary ambitions of her own, has entered a state of cozy domesticity with his nemesis, reviewer Noah Berg. Djerassi's writing is clear and cool--perhaps too cool to really engage the reader. The book reminds one of the children's anatomic model, Visible Man, that little plastic guy with all his interconnected innards neatly diagrammed and labeled. It may not come alive on an emotional level, but it's a pleasure to watch Djerassi snap the pieces into place. June Vigor

Djerassi, a Stanford chemistry professor and the man who developed the first oral contraceptive, expressed his fascination with scientists' hunger for recognition in his first two novels (The Bourbaki Gambit, 1994; Cantor's Dilemma, 1989). His hero this time is not so different: a Pulitzer-winning novelist who so longs to know how he'll be ranked among the greats that he fakes his own death to read his obituaries. The problem with being an artist, Stephen Marx likes to say, is that there's no hierarchical structure within which one can gauge one's success or lack thereof. Working in isolation, answerable only to a faceless and generally silent public, a serious writer can count how many copies of his books sell, but how can he be sure that his work is good enough to survive through the ages? So caught up with this question is Marx (despite his Pulitzer), and so apathetic about the way his personal life is dragging along, that he arranges to fake his own death by drowning so that he can read the posthumous summations. Marx's ruse works, and he flees undetected to an anonymous life in San Francisco--but then, of course, complications ensue. First, Noah Berg, Marx's cruelest but most engaged critic, drops all plans for a book about Marx when he falls in love with Marx's ``widow,'' Miriam. Then a beautiful but nosy Columbia Journalism School student acting on a hunch hunts Marx down and threatens to expose him unless he helps her write her own biography of the author. Amidst all this turmoil, Marx is never really able to pin down his true worth as a writer- -but as the burden of his reputation is lifted, he finds himself freed to create in new and exciting ways, ensuring a slew of brilliant if anonymous novels to come. Charming characters and clever prose, though few readers are likely to care about the issue of peer review as much as Djerassi evidently does. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

An internationally renowned chemist presents his third novel, featuring a novelist who fakes his own death to see how his wife, his critics, and his biographer will treat his reputation. By the author of The Bourbaki Gambit. UP.