Archives for August 2018

Both a medical mystery and a family saga,”What’s Wrong With Dorfman?” is the story of Martin Dorfman, cynic, hypochondriac, and burned-out screenwriter.

Reviews: “A funny and surprisingly moving story written at the intersection of shtick and angst.” The Wall Street Journal   –    “Hilarious and unexpectedly touching… Smart funny characters who actually sound smart and funny… poignant and finely crafted” Publishers’ Weekly   –   “The writing is fresh, laced with humor.” Women on Writing   –    “Blumenthal’s hilariously descriptive language is a delight. Wonderful.” The Washington Review   –    “I couldn’t put it down.” The Book Reporter   –   “One of the 50 Best Books of the year..  deeply and completely funny, the plot is tight and the story sings. A winning combination.” January Magazine   –   “Hilariously entertaining.” John Winokur, author of “The Portable Curmudgeon”   –    “Top notch. This novel comes highly recommended.” Chattanooga Courier   –   “A reflection of the social turmoil and internal illness within America. Blumenthal writes a haunting novel of a lost soul, searching for hope and health within his world.” Midwest Book Review  

Awards: A BookSense 76 Pick   –   Honorable Mention at the National Writers’ Assn. Novel Contest   –   Four Stars, Peoples’ Voice Awards   –   Nominee at Quill Awards   –   #1 On Reader’s Advisor List

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Four women are visited by a former lover who apologizes for breaking their hearts 20 years before. (Finalist, Intl. Book Awards, Fiction)

Reviews: “…falls somewhere between “American Pie,” “Crazy, Stupid Love” and “The Forty Year-Old Virgin.” A true pleasure to read.” Daniel Boucher, The NovelBlog   –   “Written in such a fresh style that you practically expect the typeface to rub off on your fingers like wet ink. Blumenthal has a Woody Allen-like ear for dialogue.” The Kindle Book Review  –  “Blumenthal has a jaundiced eye and a wonderfully ironic style” L.A. Daily News  –   “… a fun dive into one man’s past… Very much recommended.” The Midwest Book Review  –   “Reminded me of the cult classic High Fidelity by Nick Hornby” The Book Nook Club   –   “With a nod to Denis Leary’s Bad Boy movie, Three and a Half Virgins is an amusing character study of a man looking back at his transgressions towards women.” Harriet Klausner, Mainstream Fiction  –   “If you mine this brilliantly written story down to its core, you’ll find a message on the value of repentance and forgiveness in our shared world.” Roger Wright, Fictionique    –   “A delightful tale about a man’s personal journey to understand his past. Highly recommended.” Great Minds Think Aloud Book Club

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A new novel by John Blumenthal, published by Regal House Publishing.

Beset by awkward interpersonal skills, an obsession with classic literature and the somewhat archaic speaking style of a Jane Austen character, Ishmael Archer seems destined for the lonely life of a literature professor at the academic backwater of Longfellow College. While he yearns for female companionship, a recent acrimonious divorce has left him in a state of emotional fragility. Struggling to pay his rent and desperately trying to maintain a car with one tire in the grave, Ishmael is obliged to undertake one of his most dreaded tasks: teach a summer creative writing class. Convinced that he will be saddled with a group of student malcontents who care not a whit for Tolstoy or Dickens, Ishmael is delighted to encounter the luminescent Abigail Bird, whose passion for literature equals his own. Their burgeoning romance is cut abruptly short when Abigail suffers a traumatic head wound and falls into a coma. Distraught, Ishmael reads the unconscious Abigail passages from her most cherished novels. When she finally awakes, however, Abigail is inexplicably changed and Ishmael must find a way to connect with the Abigail Bird with whom he had originally fallen in love.

Peppered with an enthralling cast of characters—a college dean obsessed with orchids, a Greek landlord with a deep affinity for the works of Ernest Hemingway, and a self-important writer who vies with Archer for Abigail’s affections—The Strange Courtship of Abigail Bird is a heart-warming tale of love, loss, and rediscovery.

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