The Last Word

Marc Notes: First published in the UK, 2014.; Mamoon Azam is an eminent Indian-born writer who has made a career in England--but now, in his early seventies, his reputation is fading, his book sales are nonexistent, and his flamboyant second wife's expensive habits are bleeding him dry. In an attempt to revitalize his career and reputation, Mamoon's publisher commissions Harry, an ambitious young writer, to pen the famous writer's biography. Honored and slightly intimidated, Harry promises himself that he will present an unbiased look at his literary hero--but Mamoon's publisher is after a more naked truth, a salacious tale of the author's life that will generate headlines. Meanwhile, Mamoon is less than cooperative. Vain, breathtakingly cynical, and cruelly manipulative, Mamoon turns out to have a hidden agenda of his own. Harry and Mamoon find themselves in a battle of wills, but which of them will have the last word? The ensuing struggle for dominance raises questions of love and desire, loyalty and betrayal, and the frailties of age versus the recklessness of youth. A poignant and brilliantly entertaining book, THE LAST WORD is a tale of youthful exuberance, as hilarious as it is moving, and is Kureishi's most important work to date--; Provided by publisher. Review Quotes: "Wickedly brilliant. Hanif Kureshi's latest lights up the nighttime sky like a literary Tet Offensive."--Gary Shteyngart, author of Little Failure and Super Sad True Love StoryReview Quotes: ""The Last Word "is a raw and weirdly unstoppable page-turner that reads like a broad Gothic farce with a coiled Pinteresque power-struggle at its centre."--Pico IyerBrief Description: "Mamoon Azam is an eminent Indian-born writer who has made a career in England--but now, in his early seventies, his reputation is fading, his book sales are nonexistent, and his flamboyant second wife's expensive habits are bleeding him dry. In an attempt to revitalize his career and reputation, Mamoon's publisher commissions Harry, an ambitious young writer, to pen the famous writer's biography. Honored and slightly intimidated, Harry promises himself that he will present an unbiased look at his literary hero--but Mamoon's publisher is after a more naked truth, a salacious tale of the author's life that will generate headlines"--Publisher Marketing: "Hanif Kureishi's best novel since "The Buddha of Suburbia"" ("The Independent," UK): a mischievous, wickedly funny, and intellectually deft story about a young biographer and the famous and reclusive novelist who is his subject. Mamoon Azam is an eminent Indian-born writer who has made a career in England--but now, in his early seventies, his reputation is fading, his book sales are nonexistent, and the expensive habits of his flamboyant second wife are bleeding him dry. In a final attempt to revitalize his career, Mamoon's publisher commissions Harry, an ambitious young writer, to produce a provocative biography to bring Mamoon back into the public eye. Harry sets off for Mamoon's estate, where he finds not the literary hero he had imagined, but a vain, bigoted, cynical, and cruelly manipulative genius, who quickly turns the tables on his ambitious young biographer. Harry must insinuate, seduce, and finesse the truth out of the extravagant and damaged characters in Mamoon's surreal sphere as the young writer and the old master battle for the last word in the story of Mamoon's life. Acute and brilliantly entertaining, "The Last Word" is a tale of youthful exuberance and the misery of outgrowing it, as hilarious as it is moving. It is Kureishi's wisest work to date. Review Citations: Library Journal Prepub Alert 10/01/2014 pg. 62 (EAN 9781476779201, Hardcover) Library Journal 12/01/2014 pg. 92 (EAN 9781476779201, Hardcover) Kirkus Reviews 01/01/2015 (EAN 9781476779201, Hardcover) Booklist 02/15/2015 pg. 31 (EAN 9781476779201, Hardcover) - *Starred Review Publishers Weekly 01/19/2015 (EAN 9781476779218, Hardcover) Booklist 02/15/2015 pg. 31 (EAN 9781476779225, Open Ebook) - *Starred Review Contributor Bio:  Kureishi, Hanif Hanif Kureishi won the prestigious Whitbread Prize for The Buddha of Suburbia" and was twice nominated for Oscars for best original screenplay ("My Beautiful Laundrette" and "Venus, " which starred Peter O'Toole). In 2010 Kureishi received the prestigious PEN/Pinter Prize. He lives in London.