Honeymoon by James Patterson
Been reading a bit of fiction of late. It's the perfect antidote to the summer rain and cloud. For the first time, the list included a novel by James Patterson. In case you haven't heard, Patterson's books have sold an estimated 150 million copies worldwide and he holds the New York Times bestsellers list record with 45 Number Ones overall. According to Forbes magazine, Patterson earned $50 million from his writing between June 2007 and June 2008 alone. The back cover of Honeymoon includes this blurb: "Just imagine James Paterson's trademark suspenseful writing style — taken up a notch." Girlposse.com
I suppose it helps to bear in mind that Honeymoon appeared in 2004, when the money fever was raging. This may account for the conspicuous consumption of high-end goods on almost every page by the protagonist. The other noticeable thing is the very simple sentence structure.
Chapter 5: "That evening Nora cooked a penne with a vodka sauce she made from scratch. A tossed salad and a bottle of Brunello from Jeffrey's private celler. Dinner was served. Everything just so. The way he liked it."Chapter 32: "The next morning, a Friday, Nora walked out of the house in Westchester and popped open the trunk of the Benz convertible parked in front."
Chapter 57: "The next day Nora drove back to Manhattan and directly to the Bliss spa in her SoHo neighbourhood. She had a carrot-and-sesame body buff as well as a hot oil massage. This was followed by a manicure and a pedicure."
And so on, and on, and on. The secret of Patterson's success is that he sells envy, not fiction.
