The Bestseller

By Olivia Goldsmith

 From the New York Times bestselling author of THE FIRST WIVES CLUB.

At Davis & Dash, one of New York's most prestigious publishing houses, five new authors will be published—but only one of them will be a bestseller. They have worked long and hard to write their novels of romance and murder, drama and love, but the story behind the stories is even more exciting. And the vicious competition to get the right agent, the perfect editor, and the choice spot on the bestseller list must be seen to be believed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Diversion Books
• Release date: Oct 14, 2014
• ISBN: 9781626814394

Olivia Goldsmith

Olivia Goldsmith’s first novel was The First Wives Club which was made into a successful Hollywood film. This was followed by Flavour of the Month, Bestseller, The Switch, Young Wives, Bad Boy, Insiders and Uptown Girl, several of which are in development as films. She died unexpectedly in 2004.

Reviews for The Bestseller

[angelab86 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The rabbits from the original book are laying around, telling the stories found in this book.

[griffin22 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I found the first section, apparently common rabbit folk tales, unimpressive. It was like reading clumsy fan fiction. The second section, a longer story about the adventures of El-ahrairah, was better, but it wasn’t until we returned to the rabbits of Watership Down in the third section that I really enjoyed it.

[angelag86 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The rabbits from the original book are laying around, telling the stories found in this book.

[magst_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Worthwhile Read, but Much Different than Original Novel

[lisamaria_c · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This doesn't hold a candle to the original, although as a fan of Watership Down, this did make me smile from time to time, which is why I rated it as high as I did, but I suspect if I had come across this book somehow without reading the original, I'd have been less than impressed. The original book is a novel, this is a collection of 19 tales, some linked but mostly not. The first book really was a grand adventure, a tale of leadership and friendship and remarkable for its--yes, world-building, as Adams created a culture of and for rabbits. The folk stories embedded in the novel helped enrich that culture, and gave the ending a feel of myth that made a shiver run down my spine.That just wasn't the case for me here. About two-thirds of the book are filled with folk tales about El-ahrairah "the Prince of a Thousand Enemies," the hero of rabbit lore that worked so well to enrich Watership Down. I think my favorite of those tales here was the first, "The Sense of Smell"--even if it was the one that I felt was most politically correct, and biologically incorrect. (Man has not been the greatest cause of extinction. Look up the Cambrian Mass Extinction of over 500 million years ago. Or look up "Dinosaurs, extinction of.") The first two sections of tales are framed as being shared among the Watership Down rabbits. The third and last section of 8 tales are about the Watership Down rabbits and felt like catching up with old friends, even if this latest outing is by no means as impressive. Oh, and there are references to events in the previous novel left unexplained. So for more reasons than one, if you haven't read Watership Down yet, this really isn't the place to start. If you have and loved it though, as long as you know going in this is a different sort of animal--well, no reason you shouldn't enjoy it.

[comfypants · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A completely unnecessary book. It's pleasant, and a fast read, but has no focus. The first two thirds are stories from rabbit folklore. I liked those bits in Watership Down, but here, where they're standing on their own instead of telling me about the world of the characters I'm reading about, they just seem kind of pointless. The final third of the book is even worse. It's equally disconnected, without the excuse of actually being unrelated stories. The book just sort of rambles on aimlessly, then stops.

[stefany_6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Tales from Watership Down is a collection of legends and short stories that flesh out the history of the rabbits of Watership Down and continue their story after the events of the original novel. I personally had never read any of Richard Adams works prior to this (I have seen the animated film adaptation of Watership Down however, so was fairly familiar with the events and plot.) I was very impressed with how quickly I was drawn into Adams' world. His writing style is very easy to slip into and I found this collection of tales extremely difficult to put down. Mr. Adams has created a social world amongst his rabbits that is as totally believable and feels as fleshed out as Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, albeit Adams world only exists in the one novel and this compilation of short stories. I don't know why I've never read any of his works before as they have always been favorites of my step-father and accessible to me throughout my lifetime, but now that I have sampled his writing, I'm more than eager to delve into more.

[cheryl_in_cc_nv · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Didn't I write a review of this? So many of my books have no reviews, and very few should...
Mostly I remember this as discouraging me from prioritizing a reread of Watership Down itself. I do want to reread that... but maybe not badly....

[stahl2ricco · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

After recently reading "Watership Down" I felt inspired to pick this one up too! And I was underwhelmed, at best. The first two parts, so more than half, of the book are about El-ahrairah and Rabscuttle, and as I wrote in my review of the first book, "the tales about El-ahrairah and Rabscuttle were my least favorite part of the book. I understood why they were in there, but I wanted to read about Hazel and Co. more!" And Part III, which is about Hazel and Co. really didn't do much for me. It was nice to "see" them all again, but it really wasn't necessary. The end of "Watership Down" probably should have remained, The End.

[loewen-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I quite enjoyed this little collection of tales. It definitely wasn't as good as the first book but as an additional set of tales it was a quick, fun read.

[jbd1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not as good as the original, but alright as a sequel.

[badgenome · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not really a sequel per se, which may be what disappoints so many readers, but Watership Down was already such a complete book that I think we're probably better served by this less conventional follow-up. The first half of the book sees the rabbits partaking in their favorite pastime of story-telling- most of these stories, of course, star the trickster El-ahrairah; the latter half tells some of the further adventures of the warren during their first year on the Down. While lacking the focus and epic scope of the original, it packs much of the same charm and serves as a welcome chance to revisit a world to which I have a deep, possibly unhealthy attachment.

[armyangel1986 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The rabbits from the original book are laying around, telling the stories found in this book.

[badgerr_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Almost depressing as a sequal as it barely lives up to it's original.

[banshea_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a collection of short stories based on the world of Watership Down. It didn't manage to hold my interest.

[crowyhead · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was worse than I remembered it, actually. Having recently re-read Watership Down, I was really struck by how lightweight and inconsequential the stories in this book seemed. Even most of the tales of El-ahrairah lacked the mythic quality that Adams was so adept at evoking in the original book. The one that bothered me in particular was the first story in the book, which tells of how El-ahrairah gained the sense of smell for his people. What really annoyed me about it was that none of the other animals in the book were described with their Lapine names or really looked at from the viewpoint of a rabbit. When El-ahrairah journeys to the land of the King of Yesterday, he meets many extinct animals -- nearly all of which are called by their human names, including the Oregon Bison. Talk about yanking the reader out of the story! I absolutely could not believe that a warren of rabbits would be sitting around listening to Dandelion tell a story that talked about Oregon Bison and jaguars. SO aggravating. I gave this three stars for the nostalgia factor, but it's really more of a two-star book.

[fuzzi_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not up to par with the original "Watership Down"-big letdown for me.

[angie_ranck_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

not as good as Watership Down but it's still a very enjoyable read.

[raven_4 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I was really disappointed by this. I love Watership Down almost unreservedly - I love the sheer originality of it, I love the culture of the rabbits, the grand epic feel against the beautiful evocation of the English countryside. The gorgeous epilogue, with its mythic feel, that gives us this:"Yes, of course," said Hazel, hoping he would be able to remember his name in a moment. Then he saw that in the darkness of the burrow the stranger's ears were shining with a faint silver light."But the follow-up is just no good at all, compared to the original. The publisher of my edition of Watership Down has, obviously and hilariously, demanded that the blurb big up the adventure but not mention the rabbits, giving us a band of "adventurers" leaving their "doomed city". But the sequel really is just a book about rabbits. The stories are nearly all unsatisfactory, and unlike in the original, where Dandelion's tales of El-ahrairah have the real ring of trickster folktales, with clever tricks and lots of guile, the folktales fall insipidly flat.I did like the fact that there's a gesture at addressing the problem in the original, when Hazel appoints Hyzenthlay as another Chief Rabbit, but the story doesn't really go anywhere with it, which is another disappointment.

[subu0820 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A wonderful little compilation of stories from the cute little bunnies from Watership Down. It was wonderful to hear more adventures of the bunnies and their own legends and folklore.

[mykl8s · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Years after reading this, it has melded in my mind with 'Watership Down: A Novel' so I cannot remember what memories came from which book.

[lkchapman-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am a massive fan of Watership Down, which I’ve read countless times both as a child and an adult, so when I discovered only recently that this book existed I had to read it and I wasn’t disappointed.

The first half is made up of new El-ahrairah stories, which although perhaps lose a certain something when not told in the context of a larger story, I still found compelling, mysterious and poignant. The second half is about what happened to the rabbits in the time after moving to Watership Down, and how they deal with new situations and problems. Many of these stories are to do with leadership and how to cope with splits and divisions of opinion; so once again you get to see Hazel’s fair and level-headed approach to conflicts and decision-making.

I found it really enjoyable to catch up with the rabbits I remembered from the original book, and to see them forging new relationships with other rabbits who have their own interesting story to tell. I’m not completely sure how interesting this book would be to somebody who is not such a big fan of Watership Down, although the stories are entertaining in their own right and don’t rely too heavily on you remembering what happens in the original book. In any case, I loved it, and if you feel like I do about the original Watership Down then it’s well worth a read.