Mr. Wilder and Me
by Jonathan Coe
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Pub Date Sep 27 2022 | Archive Date Oct 06 2022
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Description
A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE
FROM THE AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF THE ROTTERS’ CLUB AND MIDDLE ENGLAND
In the heady summer of 1977, a naïve young woman called Calista sets out from Athens to venture into the wider world. On a Greek island that has been turned into a film set, she finds herself working for the famed Hollywood director Billy Wilder, about whom she knows almost nothing. But the time she spends in this glamorous, unfamiliar new life will change her for good.
While Calista is thrilled with her new adventure, Wilder himself is living with the realization that his star may be on the wane. Rebuffed by Hollywood, he has financed his new film with German money, and when Calista follows him to Munich for the shooting of further scenes, she finds herself joining him on a journey of memory into the dark heart of his family history.
In a novel that is at once a tender coming-of-age story and an intimate portrait of one of cinema’s most intriguing figures, Jonathan Coe turns his gaze on the nature of time and fame, of family and the treacherous lure of nostalgia. When the world is catapulting towards change, do you hold on for dear life or decide it's time to let go?
“Outstanding... In a sense, the novel toward which Coe’s fiction has always been heading.”—Los Angeles Review of Books
Advance Praise
“Outstanding... In a sense, Mr. Wilder and Me is the novel toward which Coe’s fiction has always been heading.”—Los Angeles Review of Books
“A beautifully elegiac novel… One of the best movie-set novels, it sticks closely to the facts but turns them into an elegant, melancholy reflection on Wilder’s escape from Germany, his return to Berlin, and the troubled production of his late-career film maudit.”—A. S. Hamrah, Bookforum
“Satisfyingly sweeping…among Coe’s best…A love letter to the spirit of cinema.”—The Guardian
“An account of Billy Wilder’s later years that sweeps beautifully from Hollywood to Greece and London while all the time reflecting on the horrors of 20th-century Europe.”—Financial Times (Best Books of the Year)
“This elegiac novella is utterly charming, deeply poignant and ultimately uplifting.”—Mail on Sunday
“A satisfyingly sweeping novel that still manages to push the form in new directions. As good as anything he's written—a novel to cherish.”—Observer
“Brilliantly funny.”—The Economist
“Superb.”—The Times
“Very, very funny.”—Stylist
“Knowledgeably enthralled by cinema, Jonathan Coe has often spliced it inventively into his fiction. This richly enjoyable novel is entirely devoted to it. The career of one of Hollywood's greatest directors is unrolled with wit and enthusiasm tinged with melancholy.”—The Sunday Times (Best Fiction Books of the Year)
“One of my favourite writers…a thoughtful, tender read.”—Good Housekeeping
“A beautiful, bittersweet novel that is itself crying out for the silver screen treatment . . . sheer delight.”—Scotsman
“A tender portrait. Coe's close-up on Wilder doesn't just celebrate the man but embodies his glorious ability to say sad things in a funny way, and vice versa.”—Daily Telegraph
“History meets fiction in this absorbing read . . .A nostalgic look at a girl coming of age and a man dealing with age, evocatively written.”—Woman's Own
Marketing Plan
Marketing & Publicity
- Print and E-galley through Edelweiss, NetGalley
- Indie Next campaign
- Author blurbs
- National Print and Online Coverage
- Digital Assets: e-card, book trailer
- Social media campaign including Goodreads
- Targeted Outreach to Literary Sites
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781609457921 |
| PRICE | $27.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 256 |
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