cover image Too Good to Be True: A Memoir

Too Good to Be True: A Memoir

Benjamin Anastas. Amazon Publishing/New Harvest, $25 (192p) ISBN 978-0-547-91399-5

A well-written, if overly polished tale by a writer stalled in mid-career finds thin, occasional sneers in anecdotes about being broke, cheating on his fiancée, and wondering what his new girlfriend sees in him. Anastas (The Faithful Narrative of a Pastor’s Disappearance) was one of those lucky authors who, 10 years ago, enjoyed being able to say the words “final round of bidding on my novel” for a reputable publishing house and celebrate the book’s publication (The Underachiever’s Diary), though briefly, before it sank into oblivion. He also had to endure hearing his agent murmur, “I had much higher hopes for you,” when Anastas couldn’t produce, as well as face being unable to provide for his young son, Primo, from his first failed marriage, and to reassure new girlfriend Eliza that he was really trying to help pay the rent for the Brooklyn apartment they were sharing. The author initially appears self-pitying, mystified by his inability to earn money as a well-educated published author, reduced to scrounging for coins in order to entertain his son, and somewhat comfortably accustomed to his role of getting kicked around by creditors, ex-wife, therapists, even the new boyfriend of his ex, called the Nominee (for a Major Literary Award, no less). At times the author can come across as insincere, but he does redeem himself with a closing poignant letter of promise addressed to his son (“you”). (Oct.)