Truthfully, I had no idea that Rupert Everett was an author; I mostly knew him as Julia Roberts' handsome, witty sidekick in "My Best Friend's Wedding." In this collection of short stories, the same charisma that let him light up the screen (and, frankly, steal the show) in "Wedding" shines through on the page. Everett runs the gamut here, from the absurd to the touching, sometimes all in the same short story. While some of the pieces run a little bit on the long-winded side, they are all still enjoyable, even when the undercurrent leans towards the tragic. I would be interested in adding some of his back catalog to my reading list; the dry wit, the command of language, is often reminiscent of Oscar Wilde, for whom Everett clearly has an affinity and much admiration.

In The American No by Rupert Everett, the short stories were a mixed bag. Some of the stories were not so short.. Mr Everett can turn a phrase. The novel consists of eight stories and sheds light on some that haven’t had their chance to shine just yet. In “The Wrong Box”, dropping acid/LSD before a funeral is more interesting than showing up late to a funeral. In “Sebastian Melmoth. The Morning After and The Night Before “ I learned about purple moments. Another favorite of mine was “Ten-Pound Pom”. ARC was provided by Atria Books via NetGalley. I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The American No: Stories by Rupert Everett is a collection of eight short stories. At the beginning of the book, Everett defines what he means by the American No. You go into a pitch meeting and you are basically presenting your ideas for a show/movie/series, etc. In general, these ideas are met with encouragement and enthusiasm. We love this idea the studio says as they casually sling their arm across your shoulder and can't wait to work with you. Then you never hear from them again. That story or explanation is the most interesting thing about The American No. I do believe someone needs to define short for Mr. Everett, and the stories were just uninteresting to me. Also, it felt as if they were written to be vignettes for a film idea and just submitted as short stories. So, here I am, metaphorically putting my arm across your shoulders saying, I can't wait to work with you.

Thank you to #netgalley and Atria Books for my e-arc. I give this book 2.5 stars.

A mixed bag of stories from Rupert Everett, best known to Americans as the gay editor friend of Julia Robert's in My Best Friend's Wedding.

I know how deeply he love Oscar Wilde, as I've seen one of his many performance as dear old Wilde. Oscar's last night in Paris, as imagined by Everett, is the standout here. Others read like expanded spec scripts and others are just....unformed.

I think we could have just had a full book about Oscar Wilde and his influence in Everett's life and it would have been fine.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I find the actor Rupert Everett highly entertaining, and I am happy to say that I also find the author Rupert Everett highly entertaining.
The stories in his book are well written and it almost feels like he is reading to story to you. I absolutely enjoyed "The American No".

I am a big fan of Rupert Everett, and I enjoyed reading this book. I will guiltily admit that I could hear the narration in my head in his voice. I found the book to be well written, and I did enjoy it very much. I am hoping he will do more in the future. Thank you Net Galley ARC

This is a book of stories by the actor, Rupert Everett, and it "reads" (sounds in my head) just like he's sitting across the table talking to me. What fun! One suspects these are thinly disguised vignettes from his own life, but even if not, they are a quick, enjoyable read.