Title:A Fool Among Fools
Author:John Terracuso
Genre: Humor/Historical (1980s)
Length: Novel (375 pages)
Publisher: John Terracuso (May 19th, 2013)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥ 2 Hearts
Reviewer: Cat
Blurb: It’s 1986. Ronald Reagan is in the White House, Molly Ringwald is on the cover of Time and 29-year-old Michael Gregoretti is a struggling, underpaid copywriter at a big New York ad agency. He’d rather be writing plays; instead, he’s writing awful commercials for a moisturizer formulated to conquer that dire, life-threatening condition: handruff.
Michael reluctantly accepts an assignment on a brand-new (and very secret) product – an aerosol butter – hoping it will lead to the kind of work that will land him a better job at another agency. But there’s a catch: Working on this new account will also mean working for the rigid, compulsive and quite possibly insane Gwen Hammond, who thinks that Michael, with his off-the-wall ideas and unconventional campaigns, is just too much of a rebel to work with such a conservative client.
To further complicate life, Michael meets and falls for Craig Connolly, an absolute dreamboat from the South with a voice like FM radio and a face to match. Craig claims he’d like to be in a relationship and Michael wants to believe it. The problem is, Craig is already married – to his job.
Michael survives it all with the help of his two best friends: Irene Lucca, a witty book editor with a flair for vintage clothing and an eye for the art director Michael works with, and Anthony DeLorenzo, Michael’s wise (and wisecracking) roommate and staunchest supporter.
By the time A Fool Among Fools ends, Michael has battled stuffy clients and stifling supervisors, written and produced what just might be the worst commercials in the history of advertising, found and lost love, and managed to keep himself – and the reader – laughing along the way.
Purchase Link: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/317741
Review: I’m not sure where to start. I really wanted to like this story but I just could not get into it. I like a good character driven story, but this was the year in the life of Michael. We start on his 29th birthday and end on his 30th
The story starts in 1986 but to me I felt older. There were many references to stars or names I did not recognize and it got a little confusing when I’m sure it was supposed to be funny. There is lots of wit, but some of it felt a bit dry to me. The details in the story are amazing. The author has a great eye for detail. I just felt it was a bit overboard for me, since the details were in the commercials they were doing and the day-to-day life and I never saw any advancement in the story. I read through, hoping to see Michael break free from his unhappy life and find love.
If you like, a story that centres on the life of one character down to minute daily details, sort of like a biography or something you may like this. It is not a bad story it just wasn’t for me.