The Salinger Contract

by Adam Langer

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

The whole time I was reading The Salinger Contract I kept wondering if it was real. There were real places and real people. Could the story, as far-fetched as it seemed at times, actually be real? Could Dex Dunford be real? Could HE be the reason Salinger and Harper Lee are solitary authors who only published one novel (well, until recently for Ms. Lee)? Adam Langer’s book will have you asking questions like this and pondering the real personalities versus media personalities of some well-known authors.

I throughly enjoyed this mysterious author adventure. The novel explores what it takes to write a novel, why an author writes and what constitutes as a true audience. Is it just a couple a of people or the masses?

I enjoyed the nods to famous authors, many of whom I have not read, but recognized as being giants in the industry. Langer, our storyteller, has chosen the names of Ramona and Beatrice for his children. I couldn’t help but smile thinking of my childhood days reading Ramona the Pest. Connor’s son is named Atticus and with the repeated references to Harper Lee, I’m sure it’s no coincidence that name was chosen.

For me, beyond the thoughts about what inspires an author to write and why do they write in the first place, I enjoyed the pacing of the book the most. It followed Connor and his increasingly bizarre and frantic behavior as he shared his story with Langer. As the novel progressed, and the story picked up and became more dangerous, I found it increasingly more difficult to put the book down. When I got to the end, it was hard to believe it was done. But all the loose ends were tied off with just an air of further mystery.


This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews