McGrath devotes a whole chapter to lunch. This may not be enough. As dolphins bond through synchronized swimming, agents and editors dine out in a ritualized exchange of gossip that sustains, somehow, entire careers ... Conjure[s] a wheezing twine factory—the relic of a bygone era, marred with unsightly retrofits from which a good yarn may still occasionally emerge.
Not the first book about literary agents, but it is the first to try to take their impact on American fiction seriously ... Impressive ... Middlemen helps answer a range of questions ... By paying close attention to how they talk and what they make happen, she makes the structure of the publishing industry, and the way that it shapes fiction, a little bit easier to see ... Can sometimes drift away from the fact that agents do more than represent authors. ... While Middlemen may concentrate on the powerful few who do it best, McGrath offers a new and important way to orient our understanding of the novel today.
Thorough, diverting ... Through profiles of famous literary agents and their clients, Middlemen, an invaluable work of literary analysis, goes behind the scenes in the American publishing industry.
Enlightening ... The focus is almost exclusively on literary fiction, leaving readers to wonder about the machinations behind more commercial books. Nevertheless, McGrath’s research is extremely thorough and presented in entertaining prose. Anyone curious about how their favorite books came to be will appreciate this peek behind the curtain.
