One of the best stories in Neonlit: 'Time Out' Book of New Writing Volume 2 (1999) is 'Shelf Life' by Tom Bromley. The story's working title, which mysteriously disappeared somewhere between proofs and final publication, was 'The Curse of Captain Corelli's Mandolin'. The protagonist is a first novel that consistently fails to sell; which wouldn't be much of a story, were it not for the fact that every potential purchase is thwarted by some minor event that just happens to involve Louis de Bernières's crowd-pleaser. If remaindered books could speak, how many of the hundreds of novels published in this country each year would tell a similar story? (Talk about giving a voice to the voiceless.) Reincarnated as a film tie-in with Nicolas Cage and Penelope Cruz picturesquely clinching on the cover, Captain Corelli is now bludgeoning its way back up the charts. But even for those novels not fortunate enough to have their cud chewed by Hollywood (Joanne Harris's backlist, incidentally, is selling like hot chocolate), help may still be at hand in the form of literary prizes.

LRB 10 May 2001 | PDF Download