Fiction

Last Resort

Last Resort

  • Downloads：2343
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-03-06 08:52:03
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Andrew Lipstein
  • ISBN：0374602700
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

In his blazing debut novel Last Resort， Andrew Lipstein blurs the lines of fact and fiction with a thrilling story of fame， fortune， and impossible choices。

Caleb Horowitz is twenty-seven， and his wildest dreams are about to come true。 His manuscript has caught the attention of the literary agent， who offers him fame， fortune， and a taste of the literary life。 He can’t wait for his book to be shopped around to every editor in New York， except one: Avi Dietsch， a college rival and the novel’s “inspiration。” When Avi gets his hands on it， he sees nothing but theft—and opportunity。 Caleb is forced to make a Faustian bargain， one that tests his theories of success， ambition， and the limits of art。

Andrew Lipstein’s Last Resort is the razor-edged account of a young man's headlong journey into authenticity。 As Caleb fights to right his mistakes and reclaim his name， he must burn every bridge， confront his own desire， and finally see his work from the perspective of those locked inside。

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Reviews

Liz Alterman ，

As someone who enjoys reading about writers， I found this novel riveting from start to finish。 Caleb's choices， while often maddening， were so human。 Can't wait to read this author's next novel。 As someone who enjoys reading about writers， I found this novel riveting from start to finish。 Caleb's choices， while often maddening， were so human。 Can't wait to read this author's next novel。 。。。more

Carol Snow ，

I enjoyed every page of this book。 Well-written and funny， it’s a solid choice for anyone interested in the “glamorous” world of writing and publishing。

Mary Hart ，

WOW！ I have read a 'blazing debut novel' - unfortunately i missed the blazing part。 This was absolutely terrible。 The denouement came about a minute before the halfway point， when I realised that the 'plot' was never EVER going to get any better。 The premise was what drew me in to order this from the library， but it was SO WASTED。 This is basically a book about a white American man's insecurities。 The "story" is nonexistent。 For example， we get a detailed description of a dinner party he attends WOW！ I have read a 'blazing debut novel' - unfortunately i missed the blazing part。 This was absolutely terrible。 The denouement came about a minute before the halfway point， when I realised that the 'plot' was never EVER going to get any better。 The premise was what drew me in to order this from the library， but it was SO WASTED。 This is basically a book about a white American man's insecurities。 The "story" is nonexistent。 For example， we get a detailed description of a dinner party he attends and the conversation therein， but absolutely no other mention of it ever again - and who on earth are these people he's at dinner with， who are these friends （never ever mentioned at any other time） who come to his apartment？ Who cares that he has issues with his eyes since it it nothing to do with the plot。 However I have to give credit where credit is due: Lipstein is great at giving us many details about his bloody flip phone。 What is it that Lipstein is trying to show the reader - that smart phones are ridiculous？ （unless they need to be constantly borrowed off people who bother to pay for them for using lift-share apps， emails， internet。 Even when this character has a hefty amount of dollars he still chooses to use the flip phone。 But who cares？？？ And then we have to have a litany of apps that are in use。 Again， I fail to see the purpose？ Maybe we're meant to think even more of this self-obsessed， boring character because he is able to use technology despite not possessing a smartphone。 His girlfriend has no characteristics whatsoever apart from being female - and why on earth did he ever drop his previous girlfriend who apparently he 'loved'？ Actually none of the female characters have any characteristics whatsoever。 And the male ones don't have many！ 。。。more

Lisa ，

Self sabotage at its finest。

Nan Stevens ，

The premise of this book was interesting but the characters were too narcissistic to get to any points。 I found it tedious。

Paul Dinger ，

This is a total garbage book。 I didn't just dislike it， by the end I felt a real animus。 Poorly written with page long paragraphs， confusing descriptions， stilted sentences， this wouldn't get past a freshmen's comp class。 The plot starts off good then it veers and goes into crazy directions， none of which are good。 This isn't suspenseful or exciting， it is dull and I can only hope， utterly forgettable。 This is a total garbage book。 I didn't just dislike it， by the end I felt a real animus。 Poorly written with page long paragraphs， confusing descriptions， stilted sentences， this wouldn't get past a freshmen's comp class。 The plot starts off good then it veers and goes into crazy directions， none of which are good。 This isn't suspenseful or exciting， it is dull and I can only hope， utterly forgettable。 。。。more

Paulette Ponte ，

I think this book could have been better。 The story was a good one but it dragged to the point of being a little boring and a stretch to imagine that Caleb acted as he did。

Rena ，

3。5 for twists and turns， but all ultimately predictable; when writers have nothing to write about they write about writers; this writer writes about a writer who has nothing to write about， and it's moderately entertaining to watch him self-destruct。 3。5 for twists and turns， but all ultimately predictable; when writers have nothing to write about they write about writers; this writer writes about a writer who has nothing to write about， and it's moderately entertaining to watch him self-destruct。 。。。more

LittleSophie ，

Lipstein's debut seems to be written with a specific set of authors in mind （quite a few appear on the book's cover） and set in a well trodden niche of American literature。 Unfortunately， I don't see it having much appeal beyond that。 It's the story of a literary heist: Caleb is an aspiring author， but lacks a compelling subject。 His friend Avi has a fantastic story to tell， but sadly not the talent to do so。 When Caleb uses his story and lands a surprising literary hit， a literary mud-fight bre Lipstein's debut seems to be written with a specific set of authors in mind （quite a few appear on the book's cover） and set in a well trodden niche of American literature。 Unfortunately， I don't see it having much appeal beyond that。 It's the story of a literary heist: Caleb is an aspiring author， but lacks a compelling subject。 His friend Avi has a fantastic story to tell， but sadly not the talent to do so。 When Caleb uses his story and lands a surprising literary hit， a literary mud-fight breaks out。 Lipstein delves deep into the NYC literary scene and takes us from launch parties to review pages， referencing publishing houses and authors。 Sadly though， this novel lacks the charm or humour of "Less" or the pure inventiveness of "Pale Fire"。 Instead， it turns into a competently written but dragging story bogged down by detail and characters one doesn't care about one way or the other。 The bold twist at the end saves it somewhat， but I fear most readers will have given up by then。 。。。more

Jan ，

I think it would make for interesting discussion in book group which is why I gave it a 3 instead of two stars。 That said， it moves slowly and the characters are unlikable。 Lots of padding in each scene。

Carole ，

While I didn't love this novel， I couldn't put it down。 I have read I think at least four novels about a similar topic， where someone either steals someone else's work， or puts forth a novel of someone they knew that had just died， etc。 In this case， the author rewrites a story developed by a college acquaintance of his and ends up with a great agent and a book deal and then the acquaintance learns of it and wants his pound of flesh。The main character 'Caleb Horowitz' is almost totally unlikeabl While I didn't love this novel， I couldn't put it down。 I have read I think at least four novels about a similar topic， where someone either steals someone else's work， or puts forth a novel of someone they knew that had just died， etc。 In this case， the author rewrites a story developed by a college acquaintance of his and ends up with a great agent and a book deal and then the acquaintance learns of it and wants his pound of flesh。The main character 'Caleb Horowitz' is almost totally unlikeable， yet I identified with him a lot for some unknown reason -- so terribly flawed a human is he， despite his good childhood。 （For some reason， I feel like there was a lot of the author in this fiction。） The most loveable character in this novel is a girl who seems to love him almost unconditionally， Sandra。The ending was perfect。 Almost caused me to give this one a four-star rating。 I would certainly read this author's next novel。 。。。more

nancy ，

Intriguing concept。 I seem to be enthralled with books about writers and their misappropriationof material （eg The Plot）。 This one is a well written novel recommended by The Washington Posts'Ron Charles。。and he was right。 The main character is confused and confusing as he gets himself into more and more trouble throughout the book。 I liked it。。。but not him。 Intriguing concept。 I seem to be enthralled with books about writers and their misappropriationof material （eg The Plot）。 This one is a well written novel recommended by The Washington Posts'Ron Charles。。and he was right。 The main character is confused and confusing as he gets himself into more and more trouble throughout the book。 I liked it。。。but not him。 。。。more

Anthony Crupi ，

Caleb is like that spooky kid who moves to town who isn't allowed to know about Skee-Ball and whose mom maybe has an extra foot。 I don't ever again wish to think about Caleb， his ignorance of olde-timey arcade games or that superfluous appendage。 Somebody owes me $27。00。 Caleb is like that spooky kid who moves to town who isn't allowed to know about Skee-Ball and whose mom maybe has an extra foot。 I don't ever again wish to think about Caleb， his ignorance of olde-timey arcade games or that superfluous appendage。 Somebody owes me $27。00。 。。。more

Susan Woessner ，

millennial angsty。 great writing， observation

Tristan ，

For as much hype as this book received， I'm surprised at the low numbers of reviews here on goodreads。 I'm not surprised by the rating as it tracks with my experience of the book。For one， the premise of the book， that the creator of an idea for a novel would get to be credited as the author and the actual writer would get the money， struck me as a bit too far fetched。 I'll give credit to Lipstein， he made it work in the book。 What didn't work for me was the characters decision to track down the For as much hype as this book received， I'm surprised at the low numbers of reviews here on goodreads。 I'm not surprised by the rating as it tracks with my experience of the book。For one， the premise of the book， that the creator of an idea for a novel would get to be credited as the author and the actual writer would get the money， struck me as a bit too far fetched。 I'll give credit to Lipstein， he made it work in the book。 What didn't work for me was the characters decision to track down the couple that inspired the story。 Did he think they would never mention that happening in their lawsuit？ He didnt use a fake name or seek to hide his identity in any way。 Just stupid。 I never followed how that decision was going to somehow fix his problems。 The book jumped the shark a bit for me there。Part III just didn't make sense to me。 I did not follow the characters motivations for tracking down Sophia and deciding to follow her to New Zealand。 As a lawyer the scenes with lawyers bothered me。 Not egregiously bad like some thrillers， but these lawyers moved way too quickly。 I disliked the lack of quotation marks and the use of italics to denote text instead。This book suffered from having been read after The Plot。 This is a decent book， but The Plot did a better job with a similar concept。 。。。more

Joni Daniels ，

Self-absorbed thirtysomething writer can’t come up with a worthy plot。 After visiting Avi who has had a four-way Tryst on a Greek Isle， Caleb writes and submits a novel based on Avis’ story。 When Avi learns of this， Caleb makes a ‘ deal with the devil’ with his agent that Caleb gets the money and Avi gets the notoriety。 The rest of the novel is Caleb trying to wrest back what he has lost， and a variety of women who are poorly developed characters that he picks up and puts down like toys。 The cha Self-absorbed thirtysomething writer can’t come up with a worthy plot。 After visiting Avi who has had a four-way Tryst on a Greek Isle， Caleb writes and submits a novel based on Avis’ story。 When Avi learns of this， Caleb makes a ‘ deal with the devil’ with his agent that Caleb gets the money and Avi gets the notoriety。 The rest of the novel is Caleb trying to wrest back what he has lost， and a variety of women who are poorly developed characters that he picks up and puts down like toys。 The characters aren’t particularly likable or redeemable， and Caleb never seems to make any decisions that are right， or work out well。 In spite of the reviews， I didn’t find it witty， thrilling， or mesmerizing。 It does bring up a timely question: do you own your own story？ Regrettably， this didn’t answer it for me 。。。more

Kevin ，

I have to say， first and foremost， that I am not a massive fan of novels all about people who write novels。 However I am now willing to rethink my position after reading this excellent debut novel。Many reviews have likened this book to The Plot in that they both deal with the topic of plagiarism。 Is an idea， a thought by one person， taken and made into a novel by another really plagiarism？ Who is the real author of the story？ These are the questions which are asked here。 Caleb is an aspiring nov I have to say， first and foremost， that I am not a massive fan of novels all about people who write novels。 However I am now willing to rethink my position after reading this excellent debut novel。Many reviews have likened this book to The Plot in that they both deal with the topic of plagiarism。 Is an idea， a thought by one person， taken and made into a novel by another really plagiarism？ Who is the real author of the story？ These are the questions which are asked here。 Caleb is an aspiring novelist who takes his friend， Ari's， story of a foursome and makes it into a novel。 When the manuscript is picked up by a publisher， it then creates a difficult set of questions focused on who is the real owner of the story， the person with the original idea， or the person who took the idea and made it into what it has become？ Is any story truly original？The writing here was fantastic as were the characters， including the incredibly unlikeable protagonist， Caleb。Definitely an author I will look out for in the future and thanks to Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

Evelyn ，

Mainly 2。5 but adjusted to 3 for being the first novel I've read that mentions an Android emulator :） Mainly 2。5 but adjusted to 3 for being the first novel I've read that mentions an Android emulator :） 。。。more

ZeeBerri ，

So happy I stumbled upon this delightful book！ It made a wonderful companion read to several other very different books featuring writer/publishing shenanigans， including The Plot， The Other Black Girl， and Who Is Maud Dixon？ Last Resort is a more character-focused， literary take than the other three， with danger of the existential rather than mortal variety， and lots of sharp， snarky， and wickedly funny observations。 One of my favorites of 2022 so far。Caleb Horowitz is an ambitious 27-year-old So happy I stumbled upon this delightful book！ It made a wonderful companion read to several other very different books featuring writer/publishing shenanigans， including The Plot， The Other Black Girl， and Who Is Maud Dixon？ Last Resort is a more character-focused， literary take than the other three， with danger of the existential rather than mortal variety， and lots of sharp， snarky， and wickedly funny observations。 One of my favorites of 2022 so far。Caleb Horowitz is an ambitious 27-year-old writer who has landed a top-notch agent and is about to sell his first novel in an impressive bidding war。 But there's a problem: Caleb based his novel on his college friend Avi's （true） story about a sexy foursome he had during a vacation to Greece。 When Avi gets wind of Caleb's novel and wants to talk about sharing credit， things get very interesting。 And complicated。 There's lots to explore here: who owns a story， who should profit， how a person decides wants/needs， writerly psyche， sources of inspiration。The story is told from Caleb's point of view， which suits the material and readily demonstrates the degree of his self involvement and anxiety， but also means other characters aren't as well developed。 Caleb's girlfriend Sandra， for example， is a Reasonable Supportive Dreamgirl， but her character seems to function mostly as a mirror to Caleb's anxiety and self-delusional bullshit。 I would have loved more development of Sandra， but perhaps that's just my Sandra-crush talking。All in all， this was a great read！ Full of wit and sharp observations。 And I just love-love-loved the author's sense of humor。 I'll be on the lookout for his next book。 。。。more

Abe ，

Very fun read。 What do we want out of life？ Does anyone know？

Faith ，

This is yet another book about an author stealing another author’s idea or book。 It feels like there have been a few of those books lately。 In this book， Caleb uses a story （which may or may not be entirely true， but involves real people） to write his first novel。 Some people aren’t too happy about that。 I am going to have to take issue with the blurb which describes this book as “a thrilling story of fame， fortune and impossible choices”。 There is nothing thrilling about the book。 And the choic This is yet another book about an author stealing another author’s idea or book。 It feels like there have been a few of those books lately。 In this book， Caleb uses a story （which may or may not be entirely true， but involves real people） to write his first novel。 Some people aren’t too happy about that。 I am going to have to take issue with the blurb which describes this book as “a thrilling story of fame， fortune and impossible choices”。 There is nothing thrilling about the book。 And the choices were not difficult for Caleb because his ethics were skewed and he thought about no one but himself， so doing what he wanted was always the obvious choice。 He callously dropped several women along the way， while professing how heart broken he was about it。 At least he got exactly what he deserved at the end。 The book was readable， even if there was a certain amount of tedium reading about the pity party of this 20-something narcissist。 3。5 stars 。。。more

Julia Holmes ，

Another interesting book and unusual premise。 A book about another book that was written。 Many layers to the story with each word carefully chosen。 The characters are complex and the lines between fact and fiction are blurred。

Sharon ，

A book about a book with lots of unexpected twists and turns！

Patrick ，

Tricky and welcome and excellent company。 Lipstein is working at something that is depressingly scant and even actively rejected recently （I’ve read the LA Times review）—a novel about a grownup who lives in the real word。 It’s amazing how piercing the details about jealousy and salary and animus and laziness felt。 Somehow these ideas have not been in the marketplace in the last five years despite their absolute overwhelming prevalence in all art since the beginning of time。A brutal ending that f Tricky and welcome and excellent company。 Lipstein is working at something that is depressingly scant and even actively rejected recently （I’ve read the LA Times review）—a novel about a grownup who lives in the real word。 It’s amazing how piercing the details about jealousy and salary and animus and laziness felt。 Somehow these ideas have not been in the marketplace in the last five years despite their absolute overwhelming prevalence in all art since the beginning of time。A brutal ending that feels sticky。 I hate to dwell on how something will be “received” but “Last Resort” seems to give me some leeway in that department。 Caleb’s folly is familiar enough to people who are honest and paying attention， but it also feels like a recognition I have to experience in private， which sucks。 Does this portend the advent of a post-trump era of storytelling？ I certainly hope so。 。。。more

Amelia ，

3。5

bea ，

Oh my god。 Our protagonist here is a dickhead。 I identified parts of myself within parts of him and I'm feeling the need for some journalling and self-reflection。 Sandra， my love: I want to be you。The final few pages had my jaw on the floor and the last sentence caused me to exclaim， loudly， to a room filled with nobody: “holy fuck”。 A wonderfully anxious and uncomfortable read。 Oh my god。 Our protagonist here is a dickhead。 I identified parts of myself within parts of him and I'm feeling the need for some journalling and self-reflection。 Sandra， my love: I want to be you。The final few pages had my jaw on the floor and the last sentence caused me to exclaim， loudly， to a room filled with nobody: “holy fuck”。 A wonderfully anxious and uncomfortable read。 。。。more

Rebecca ，

For fans of Verity and The Plot， Last Resort is a more literary， more relationship/character-driven version of the “whose story is it” plot。 I couldn’t put it down。

Rachel Demi ，

More thoughtful， plausible， and better than The Plot， which was also a compelling read。

Adam B ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 So， Caleb， if you are endlessly refreshing Goodreads， seeing how many ratings you’ve received， calm down， and smoke a bowl。 You’ve become a writer， and you are writing your own story。Oh， I thought you were an idiot。 You made a deal with the devil， but one I thought you could manage。 You had the girl， the apartment， the couch （？）， and I cringed hard when you decided to throw it all away when you awkwardly visited Joe and Reagan。 And then to throw it away all over again with Sandra…but I’ve though So， Caleb， if you are endlessly refreshing Goodreads， seeing how many ratings you’ve received， calm down， and smoke a bowl。 You’ve become a writer， and you are writing your own story。Oh， I thought you were an idiot。 You made a deal with the devil， but one I thought you could manage。 You had the girl， the apartment， the couch （？）， and I cringed hard when you decided to throw it all away when you awkwardly visited Joe and Reagan。 And then to throw it away all over again with Sandra…but I’ve thought about it， you needed to do it to be authentic…authenticity always has a price and you are no different…so congratulations on living your own life; few， as always， do。 —This was an energizing book — a literary thriller with some real suspense， but also a book to be thought over…what’s the value of ideas over execution？ How do you write in a transparent interconnected world where your inspirations can be discovered immediately？ （This is why there are some thematically similar rumblings in the literary world）。 And how do you live an authentic life when it’s easy to sell yourself out to a fintech startup？ （I get this last one may seem narrow and esoteric to some， but I get it。） Recommended。 。。。more

Leslie ，

Caleb Horowitz is working at a job that he doesn’t like， doesn’t understand and doesn’t care about except that it is helping to support him while trying to fulfill his dream of becoming a published author。 Needing inspiration he leaves NY to travel the country looking for inspiration。 He bumps into Avi， a old “sort of” friend from college who tells him a story of his recent vacation experience。 Greece， intrigue， an affair and tragedy。 They part and go their separate ways。 Later he receives a sho Caleb Horowitz is working at a job that he doesn’t like， doesn’t understand and doesn’t care about except that it is helping to support him while trying to fulfill his dream of becoming a published author。 Needing inspiration he leaves NY to travel the country looking for inspiration。 He bumps into Avi， a old “sort of” friend from college who tells him a story of his recent vacation experience。 Greece， intrigue， an affair and tragedy。 They part and go their separate ways。 Later he receives a short story outline from Avi and suddenly he is unblocked and the words flow out of him like water from a faucet and the story becomes Calebs。 It is his isn’t it？ And so begins a bidding war for his manuscript。 And then Avi shows up and he is not happy。 And so begins their dance of manipulation， lies and who really owns the story。 Its an interesting look at the publishing industry， authorship， intellectual property， ethics and morals。 There are some surprises along the way and some things that are quite predictable， but all in all it was an interesting well written listen/read。 I received a copy of this book from Netgalley。com in exchange for a fair and honest review。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Last Resort

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Last Resort&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Last Resort&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0