Lost for Words

"A laugh-out-loud sendup of literary prizes. . . . Like a long Monty Python sketch" from the author of the Patrick Melrose novels (Kirkus Reviews).
Winner of the 2014 Wodehouse Prize
"A withering satire . . . a deliciously irreverent novel." —Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post

The judges on the panel of the Elysian Prize for Literature must get through hundreds of submissions to find the best book of the year. Meanwhile, a host of writers are desperate for Elysian attention: the brilliant writer and serial heartbreaker Katherine Burns; the lovelorn debut novelist Sam Black; and Bunjee, convinced that his magnum opus, The Mulberry Elephant, will take the literary world by storm. Things go terribly wrong when Katherine's publisher accidentally submits a cookery book in place of her novel; one of the judges finds himself in the middle of a scandal; and Bunjee, aghast to learn his book isn't on the short list, seeks revenge.

Lost for Words is a witty, fabulously entertaining satire that cuts to the quick of some of the deepest questions about the place of art in our celebrity-obsessed culture, and asks how we can ever hope to recognize real talent when everyone has an agenda.

"Lost for Words is . . . a satirical romp that showcases . . . [St. Aubyn's] Waugh-like talent for comedy and his unsparing eye for people's pretensions and self-delusions." —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times