The Best Revenge
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It's good to be ambitious. Only remember¸ the nearer you get to the front of the line¸ the more people with knives can see your back.”
That's Louie Riller giving advice to his son¸ Ben¸ who happens to be the most successful producer on Broadway. Louie Riller himself happens to be long dead.
"Joan of Arc heard voices¸” Ben Riller's secretary tells him. "Why shouldn't you?” But Ben isn't just hearing voices; he's having a running argument with the late Louie about life¸ love¸ and Ben's newest production¸ The Best Revenge¸ a play that has already gobbled up too much of other people's money and is in danger of closing before it opens.
When¸ on Louie's advice¸ Ben visits his father's master shylock¸ Aldo Manucci¸ we are suddenly involved with two generations of wonderful underworld characters. One of them pulls the trapdoor under Ben's feet¸ forcing him to choose between his moral and financial ruin.
In turn hilarious¸ poignant¸ and profound¸ The Best Revenge takes us on a vastly entertaining excursion behind the scenes of the Great White Way¸ where the drama is often more suspenseful than anything that happens onstage and where the best revenge is¸ of course¸ success.
In The Best Revenge¸ the author of the million-copy seller The Magician¸ out-triumphs all his previous work. Saul Bellow has said of The Best Revenge¸ "It reads itself.” And The New York Times affirms¸ "If you bury yourself in a Sol Stein novel while walking¸ you'll walk into a wall.”
It's good to be ambitious. Only remember¸ the nearer you get to the front of the line¸ the more people with knives can see your back.”
That's Louie Riller giving advice to his son¸ Ben¸ who happens to be the most successful producer on Broadway. Louie Riller himself happens to be long dead.
"Joan of Arc heard voices¸” Ben Riller's secretary tells him. "Why shouldn't you?” But Ben isn't just hearing voices; he's having a running argument with the late Louie about life¸ love¸ and Ben's newest production¸ The Best Revenge ¸ a play that has already gobbled up too much of other people's money and is in danger of closing before it opens.
When¸ on Louie's advice¸ Ben visits his father's master shylock¸ Aldo Manucci¸ we are suddenly involved with two generations of wonderful underworld characters. One of them pulls the trapdoor under Ben's feet¸ forcing him to choose between his moral and financial ruin.
In turn hilarious¸ poignant¸ and profound¸ The Best Revenge takes us on a vastly entertaining excursion behind the scenes of the Great White Way¸ where the drama is often more suspenseful than anything that happens onstage and where the best revenge is¸ of course¸ success.
In The Best Revenge ¸ the author of the million-copy seller The Magician ¸ out-triumphs all his previous work. Saul Bellow has said of The Best Revenge ¸ "It reads itself.” And The New York Times affirms¸ "If you bury yourself in a Sol Stein novel while walking¸ you'll walk into a wall.”