Touted by the gossip columns as a roman a clef about the publishing world, Yglesias's fourth novel has definite commercial potential, since there are always people who like to read sordid tales about the media. Focusing on a group of ambitious, opportunistic New York yuppies, each desperate for success, power, fame, money and glamorous sexual partners, Yglesias follows his characters as their aspirations flourish or fade. And even for the one person who comes up with a smashing bestseller, happiness is an elusive emotion, banished by inner fear and self-loathing. The leading players in this fermenting brew are introduced in the book's opening scene, a dinner party so exquisitely awkward that even the reader is embarrassed. Thereafter we watch an aspiring playwright sell out to Hollywood; a sexy blonde discover she can really write, but must use her body to assure publication; a blocked novelist lose his scruples, professional and personal; a journalist at a leading newsmagazine realize that his way to the top has been sabotaged by office intrigue. Yglesias views his characters with cynicism, but he knows how to create the dramatic momentum that will have readers turning the pages. And if his book does become a bestseller, he will have the ironic last laugh. (June 25)
