From the bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus comes a novel about a struggling writer who gets his big break, with a little help from the most famous woman in America.After years of trying to make it as a writer in 1990s New York City, James Smale finally sells his novel to an editor at a major publishing house: none other than Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Jackie–or Mrs. Onassis, as she’s … Mrs. Onassis, as she’s known in the office–has fallen in love with James’s candidly autobiographical novel, one that exposes his own dysfunctional family. But when the book’s forthcoming publication threatens to unravel already fragile relationships, both within his family and with his partner, James finds that he can’t bring himself to finish the manuscript.
Jackie and James develop an unexpected friendship, and she pushes him to write an authentic ending, encouraging him to head home to confront the truth about his relationship with his mother. Then a long-held family secret is revealed, and he realizes his editor may have had a larger plan that goes beyond the page…
From the bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus comes a funny, poignant, and highly original novel about an author whose relationship with his very famous book editor will change him forever–both as a writer and a son.
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Steven Rowley has hit a home run. What a stunning portrayal of family this is. At turns equally laugh-out-loud funny and searingly poignant, Rowley has created a truly unforgettable story of a son trying to understand his mother. The Editor is one of those exceptional stories that is both a joy to read on every page and also deeply profound and significant. It took my breath away.
This was a lovely story about family and the challenges of being true to yourself while also being true to the people who love you… It was sweet and thoughtful and brought a tear to my eye more than once.
Like so many, I’m oddly captivated by the thought of Jackie O as a combination literary persona and cultural icon; there is a weird cognitive dissonance at the thought of her going into an office and making coffee and then going home and living the fabulous life of a Bouvier sister (to paraphrase a FANTASTIC biography that I recently read about her and her sister Lee Radziwell). It’s a beguiling duality that is surprisingly compelling and makes for a fascinating backdrop to what would otherwise have been a relatively ordinary story about an author’s first book and the secrets that underpin his life. I found the back and forth between James’ “regular” life and Jackie’s “decidedly not-so” to be delightful and add a layer of depth to the insights that James reaches with regard to his own mother. It was a clever construct that was executed with love and compassion and a deliciously snarky undertone and Rowley deserves accolades for it!
Thanks to Penguin First to Read for my review copy.
A highly entertaining novel, The Editor by Steven Rowley, takes place in 1990s Manhattan.
Writer James Smale finally sells his novel to a major publishing house. When he has his first appointment to discuss the book, he is astonished to learn his editor is Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, or Mrs. Onassis as she is known in the office.
Mrs. Onassis is highly impressed with James’ autobiographical novel, but makes it clear the story’s end lacks believability. And no wonder. The story exposes James’ own dysfunctional family and his relationship with his partner, Daniel. It’s obvious to Jackie that James has unresolved issues, particularly with his mother, which is affecting his fictional story’s ending. Jackie urges him to confront and resolve his fragile family relationships. By doing so, she believes, James will find the way to give his novel an authentic ending.
Jackie and James become friends and she even invites him to stay for a weekend in her guest house at Martha’s Vineyard. In their informal chats, James learns the depth of Jackie’s dedication to truth and whatever it exposes. Her encouragement helps pave the way for James to face and reveal a long-held family secret.
The author does a wonderful job of portraying Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis as the intelligent, private, quietly charming person that she was. Not only is the story itself engaging, the portrayal of Jackie reinforces what I have always believed about this very private person who was continually thrust into the limelight.
It’s difficult to imagine an author who wouldn’t equally enjoy this novel and recognize how unlikely such a hands-on (not meant literally) and intimate (also not literally) relationship between an editor and an author is in today’s publishing climate. Most editors can’t devote that much developmental attention to a manuscript; work needs to be nearly publication ready prior to an offer. But it’s lovely to revisit the era when they could in this wonderful novel. The relationship between Mrs. Onassis, who bought the protagonist’s debut novel and urges the him to do the psychological and relationship work with his family to “fix” the end of his autofiction, hosts him at her summer home while he works on the manuscript, and sees it through many revisions to bring the book to a successful publication (with a publisher’s book party and tour, no less) is deeply satisfying and beautifully imagined. The voice of Rowley’s gay male protagonist, the first person narrator, is authentically defensive and self-deprecating, engaging, witty, and natural. The family and boyfriend relationships are well drawn, and the central conflict with the protagonist’s mother as well as the backstory with his father are well-revealed and well-resolved. Just an excellent read.
I really enjoyed The Editor by Steven Rowley. I loved the plot, Jackie O being his editor and how no one believed him.
From many things I’ve read, it seems a very “real” portrayal of the First Lady and I wished while reading, that I could have met her in a similar situation.
Do yourself a favor and read The Editor. It is very good and so touching in certain places.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for granting my request for an ARC. My thoughts in this review are my own and freely given.
The Editor is an absolute delight from start to finish. Steven Rowley writes such evocative, compelling characters, and his ability to buck the cliche in favor of true nuanced emotion is a gift. Rowley’s portrayal of the unconventional relationship between a charmingly uncertain James Smale and the one and only Mrs. Onassis made me laugh, nod and eventually, cry. I adored this book!
I just want to say thank you to Steven Rowley for writing this beautiful, beautiful story that is so excellent on so many levels. His books always feel very personal and I won’t presume to know how much if any of it is, but he makes me feel the emotions right down to my toes.
So I started reading this not expecting to end up sobbing, but the protagonist James (who is writing a fictional novel) takes a momentous journey that shakes up his world, and he’s given guidance by his editor Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to pursue that journey and see it through. Jackie calls upon her life experience as a mother to help James understand the importance of mending his relationship with his own mother. That relationship will never be perfect because James’ mother is very blunt about certain things, and not forthcoming about others and she’s hard to read. But in the end they are on their way to something better.
The way I see it, the brilliance of this story is the way that Jackie is woven in as a character, and how much is fact and how much is fiction I don’t know, but it’s obviously written with great affection by someone who has studied her and admires her very much. In historical fiction the setting is real but the characters are fictional. This is just the opposite, so it’s unique and fascinating how this story was constructed.
The story is told from the perspective of a gay man and I always find it interesting to read the point of view of someone who is actually living the gay experience. It’s not preachy, just insightful and again, woven into the story but not necessarily the main focus.
Lastly, I just love Mr. Rowley’s writing style. It’s easy to read but it’s so, so descriptive and I’m never bored. Every scene serves a purpose and flows right into the next. He’s a very deep thinker and if you’re looking for a book with a lot of external action this isn’t it. It’s more of a character examination. So it’s not for everyone I suppose. To just examine this story on a superficial level and criticize the plot misses the point.
To anyone who has an initial interest in this story, I highly recommend it. I could relate to it personally in many ways, and it’ll be one of those books that I always remember. But if you’re not looking for something different and thought provoking then it’s probably not for you.
This book is a fictitious account of a first-time author who lands Jackie Kennedy Onassis as his editor. It has the feel of autobiographical fiction, but apparently isn’t according to the author. There were a few things about the book that bothered me–the mother’s secret came across as extremely obvious, at least to me, early on, even though it’s not revealed until much later in the story. In addition, I found the protagonist overly needy and insecure. I would have preferred a more mature, balanced personality. For a man in his thirties, he often came across as someone not yet out of his teens. And finally, I found one scene toward the end an embarrassing cliche ripped from the pages of romance fiction. However, none of these objections were enough to keep me from enjoying The Editor.
A clever concept that is expertly crafted and executed. Excellent dialogue and character development. I was in good hands with this author and now that I trust his work, I will definitely explore more of it.
Hard to get into. And I liked Jackie!
The filthy language ruined an otherwise good story. Didn’t finish it.
I LOVED this book.
Very creative story!
From the moment I saw this book, I knew I’d have to read it! It’s sat on my shelf for a while, but I’m so glad I got round to taking it down. The story is brilliantly told, two strands from different worlds which interweave wonderfully, and of course, there’s the fabulous Jackie O – I mean, what more could you possibly ask for in a book? Fantastic escapist read!
An excellent read
This was a good story. It was fiction, based on fact-based on Jackie Kenndy’s work as an editor. It had relateable characters and a good plotline.
The author of Editor is a man who was totally surprised to find the publisher’s editor who thought his book could be publishable was Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis herself. Awed by her presence, and the fact of her interest in his book, he works hard to meet her standards and suggestions, while being encouraged by his gay husband. His husband has a far more prominent place in this book than Mrs. Onassis does. the book is more of an ode to discovering genuine love from his husband than it is of the aspiring writer learning details of his craft from a celebrated public figure and editor.
It was surprisingly good, although it would have been better had it been a true story.
Poor characterizations, not even close. I did not finish the book.
The premise is interesting, but I could not engage with the characters, and sadly just stopped reading.