The Awful Truth about the
Sushing Prize by Marco Ocram (a.k.a. Denis Shaughnessy) is a
brilliantly-written crime thriller, “a light spoof,” parodizing
not only literary works but also the writing process itself. Ocram
writes the first thing that pops into his head and doesn't go back to
revise anything he's written – “what was written was written.”
This gets him stuck in strange situations, both in writing and in the
story, and forces him to use “ludicrous plot twists whenever it
suits him” to get himself out of a jam. In the words of Professor
Sushing, “This so-called novel is the final gruesome development of
Ocram's warped philosophy of literature. It is no less than a
catalogue of bizarre and improbable twists from start to end.”
Marco Ocram isn't just the
author of The Awful Truth about the Sushing Prize; he is also the
narrator of the story as well as the fictional author of The Awful
Truth about the Herbert Quarry Affair, “the world's fastest-selling
book,” making him a “literary mega-star.” Ocram, who wears his
“anorak” and his Rolex watch with his mom's face on the dial, is
obsessed with his black Range Rover with tinted windows. He and his
friend, Como Galahad, the Chief of Police of Clarkesville County,
fight crime – and Marco writes about it. He is writing his book and
sharing the process of writing with the reader: metacognitive
story-telling. “I wondered if I was […] committing some enormous
literary gaffe.” He does whatever he wants with his writing style,
switching to movie-script mode to make writing a dialogue easier and
changing to present tense to describe an action-packed scene, all the
while alerting the reader of the changes. Ocram writes what he knows
and lets the reader fill in the blanks when he doesn't. “[...]
ignorance had never stopped me from writing about boring things, and
I wasn't going to let it now.”
Those with a sense of
humor will thoroughly enjoy the book. It's different, original,
absurd, entertaining, ridiculous, and hilarious, all at the same
time. I loved it. I found myself laughing out loud at various
descriptions and situations throughout the book. I highly recommend
it. I give it five stars because that's the maximum allowed. I
finished this book and immediately bought the author's next book. I'm
officially “Ocramized.”
The Awful Truth About The Sushing Prize
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1946501131/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_YUPsEb6V95BX0
