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Rating: The cockroach in literature has always experienced good success and excellent appeal, for reasons unknown. In 1915, Franz Kafka wrote “The Metamorphosis,” in 1994 Daniel Evan Weiss followed suit with the hilarious “The Roaches Have No King.” Today, the Italian Luca Ricci brings the figure of the cockroach back to the center of a story with his second novel; the first was “La persecuzione del rigorista.” There are 4 big insects starring in “How to Write a Bestseller in 57 Days”, 4 cockroaches that could only be named John, Paul, George, and Ringo.
The story briefly tells of these 4 insect residents in the French apartment of a broke writer. When eviction looms, they worry that someone new might come in and start a disinfection process. So, how to save their lives? Simple, by taking the writer's place in drafting a bestseller. The 4 first investigate the average reader’s tastes, then try to include everything that the reader wants to see and refrain from making life too complicated, and then for 57 days they hop on Briac’s keyboard, producing a masterpiece.
Of course, I avoid continuing with spoilers so as not to ruin the pleasure of reading for those intrigued. The little book costs less than 10 euros and is published by Laterza, making it easily available in any bookstore.
Some supporting characters are hilarious, like the huge American cockroach that serves as a totem for consultation in times of confusion and delivers aphorisms that seem incomprehensible. Of course, there cannot be a lack of the scarrafona Yoko Ono, the charming Violette.
Behind the light and entertaining prose lies a fierce critique of the literary world capable of churning out dime novels like they're from a mold.
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