5ive Speed

This is such a funny book. I've read lots of it and intend to read much more, in fact all there is. Donald is a great character, so witty and easy to like; except when he's making cracks at Emily about her drinking, the first time they meet Foster and Zara. The two background chapters help us to understand both Donald and Emily so much better than if they were left out. There is a real touch of sadness added here, and the book takes on depth as well as humour. It would be easy to spend a lot of space now in quoting some of the great one liners, such as the reason Donald thinks Emily might give for divorce, 'Irreconcilable indifferences.' But instead, I want to draw attention to the underlying sadness of this joke. We have to laugh, and enjoy laughing, but because we know Donald and Emily really well by now, and like them and sympathise with them, we feel the pain underneath this and many of the other jokes. This is an excellent, very well written book. Backed.
Gerry McCullough,
Belfast Girls.

Forget genres. This is literature. Beautifully-written, life-affirming literature. As the old publicity one-liners extracted from the reviews of Brian Rix farces used to say, 'I laughed 'til I cried', 'Kept me in stitches!' Yes, it's very, very funny and the humour is quick, slick and usually pointed, e.g. 'Chicago Irish, which Irish people from Dublin some day aspire to be' and, of lawyers talking about things being black and white, 'Shit, it's our job to make things look gray.' And you don't have to be either Jewish or American to enjoy it. By the grace of this novel, while reading it you temporarily become both. It's a human story and these feel like real people, six lovers in a kind of up-to-the-minute Shakespearian comedy of errors and surprises. And the reader wants them to be happy - in their own ways - in the end. It's not all humour, though, the author knows exactly how and when to inject pathos. Just enough to make you realise he has a serious purpose: to broaden our perception of people and life by leading us in an exploration of relationships between characters that matter more and more to us as the story progresses.
He can teach, too. We get an accessible and enjoyable explanation of how futures trading works; how it was done in the past and is done now. In fact, everything Charlie Warrady touches upon tells you subtly and engagingly that he knows a lot about it.
His portrait of Donald, the Jew whose favourite expletive is 'Jesus Christ....', is so true to life. This reviewer lived for some years in Johannesburg. At the convent my daughter went to there were more Jews than Catholics. Why? It was a good school where you learned stuff, that's why.
Please, somebody, publish this, the next Great American Novel.
Alan (aka Lee)

This is brilliant! This is not just funny, witty, tragi-comic, poignant, it also a social history. I can't fault what I have read so far. This is definitely the best novel that I have read on this website. I read the chapters to my girlfriend and she laughed out loud too. I'll check out your website. Do you put clips on YouTube?

This book really speaks to me. As an adolescent I had a 'Spider' bike which had no gears while everyone else had a 'Chopper' bike which had 5 gears. I am sure that my self-esteem was affected by the type of bike I had or my contemporaries' reaction to it.

Anyway I'll back the book in about five minutes. Good luck!

...and then Zara hopped up on the handlebars!

Charley- I read this almost in one sitting, and believe me, the pleasure was all mine! You are a master of dialogue--there is no wasted energy, it reads down-hill (which is something that I always look for in what I read). Very funny, light, tender, did I say funny? When Emily drops the glass, and Donald says "buy plastic," I was absolutely rolling....And there were many of those! You did not miss opportunities--that means to me that you put a lot of thought into your threads of humour, and how they relate to the characters.

At first, I was not so sure about the notes that Sharon was making, but I trusted your writing, and it worked out for me in later chapters. When the behavior re-appeared, I was rewarded with the quirkiness of Sharon's character.

Your details were well balanced, effective, ( I even Googled Zizanie, just to check up on you!) and they built upon one another. You were efficient in building peripheral characters--all in all nice and tidy. I've been to Chicago several times, and I felt transported back there. So, your setting was very good to me.

You should be very proud of this work. I am sure that it was a challenge to settle on your structure and to timeline the whole thing! You did it, and I enjoyed it.

I highly recommend this book! I will probably read it again! Oh, and obviously "shelved!"

Warm Wishes,
~Phil
"Emerluvly"

Read chapter one. You sir, you are brilliant at dialogue. It has the same, sharp, quick wit as Frasier, and is just as funny in a, 'I wish I'd thought of that,' kind of way. Superb.

Chapter two. You sir, you are brilliant at narrative. You apply your humour and intelligence to it to make it sparkle and gleam. It reads like footage. I'm watching it.

Chapter three... oh for God's sake, you're just too good at this. It shouldn't be my crits that you're reading, it should be the red pen of your editor. And the red pen should be forming lots of neat ticks and, 'well done's.

Send me a message when this becomes available to buy so I can purchase a copy please.

Andrew

Charley -

This is a very funny, poignant and, at times, sexually charged book. Great time capsule, too.

Kind of feel like Philip Portnoy visits Wonder Years.

Backed, happily.

And I'd love it if you could take a look at my book.

Best of luck here.


-Jeff Lee
THE LADIES TEMPERANCE CLUB'S FAREWELL TOUR

Started with chapter 5. Don't know why, I like 5's. I think the metric system was twice as ambitious as it needed to be.
Lines like "No doubt he actually wore that ski jacket to ski." and "No thanks. I like to be sober when I'm holding your hair back later." are brilliant. There are many others... and this is just one chapter.
Publish this, it's awesome!
Shelved,
Dan-
Eunice Stubbins, among others...

Hi -- I thought this was well-written and had an MC who was a real treat and so easy to like and empathise with. There was a lot of clever, wry humour and some real tear-jerking moments, too. Apart from anything, it was a very enjoyable read. Backed with pleasure, Barry
(Little Krisna and the Bihar Boys)

Backed January 15.

Jesse - Savant

http://www.authonomy.com/ViewBook.aspx?bookid=14062

you have a noice voice that brings out the comedy.
crisp and well timed prose, together with effective dialogue brings the spirit of this work alive.

great stuff
BACKED

I like this idea, but I'm thinking you sort of pussyfoot around a little bit too much up front. What do you think of launching in with some sort of dialogue or interaction between your MC and the psychiatrist rather than starting with so much exposition? I think that might really help set a better tone.

This is such a funny book. I've read lots of it and intend to read much more, in fact all there is. Donald is a great character, so witty and easy to like; except when he's making cracks at Emily about her drinking, the first time they meet Foster and Zara. The two background chapters help us to understand both Donald and Emily so much better than if they were left out. There is a real touch of sadness added here, and the book takes on depth as well as humour. It would be easy to spend a lot of space now in quoting some of the great one liners, such as the reason Donald thinks Emily might give for divorce, 'Irreconcilable indifferences.' But instead, I want to draw attention to the underlying sadness of this joke. We have to laugh, and enjoy laughing, but because we know Donald and Emily really well by now, and like them and sympathise with them, we feel the pain underneath this and many of the other jokes. This is an excellent, very well written book. Backed.
Gerry McCullough,
Belfast Girls.

Great stuff with a very dry humour, which I particularly enjoy. Backed.

Nitpick: "Do you think your wife is an alcoholic, or do you think you exaggerate" missing question mark.

This is a very entertaining and delightful read. I enjoyed the humor. Backed.

I never had a 'Chopper' (what the Sting Ray resembles) but I wanted one. I really, really wanted one. I understand Donald, I empathise with this expertly told and witty story.
Backed.
...I married a woman who had owned one...and even after 21years of marriage I still envy the fact.

Donald is a hilarious character - his ranting and almost mindless chatter had me laughing out loud, and I love his views on things, especially his wife. The hook at the end of chapter one was also great, as we know things start to happen when he meets Chloe's parents. Also, I love his interactions with his psychiatrist - very classic and funny.

Shelved.
Andrea
The Key of Kilenya

We know precisely what Donald’s background and parents were like – 'the extras two gears weren’t worth the extra money', “they didn’t need two nice cars” – lovely. This is an extremely well written comic story but with a poignancy which, at times, is heart-rending. The story flows nicely. The dialogue is good but the descriptive passages are wonderful. There are some brilliant touches: “They evidently produced two such chairs”; “That doesn’t mean she’s stopped talking to me” “the boy the girls left for everyone else”. This deserves to do very well, good luck and shelved, Carolyn.

You have so many wonderful comments, I can only add that I wholeheartedly agree that this is a really well-written, entertaining story. It should really do well.

I like the humour in this, i.e Drewy system gag I was a librarion at school and It sounds like you have a bit of experience in that field. However I don't really like Fictional names I never really believe in the characters, it's always a bit Jackie Collins Handsome hero stuff, that's why I always write in the first person style ~ But that's not your Problem it's mine I did like Five Speed and Love the Cover!!!

This is well-written, fast and entertaining. There is humour, here, rather than comedy; it's too dry for that. But, you might want to be a little careful of of incipient cynicism. Satirical is good, cynical can be uncomfortable.

Backed.

Adelie High (Naming Names)

Oh this is a clever, funny book. You have tickled my funny bone. This is one of the funniest comedies on authonomy. I am not usually a comedy or lit fic fan but your story is fab... I will be keeping this on my list for when I have more time (this list seems to be growing mind you) "-)

I have nothing constructive to add...

Witty and intelligent writing.

Backed

Jo xx

Spoilt

Already on my shelf from the strength of the pitch. I expected to enjoy this but not to be swept along as if I were watching was going to say a Woody Allen movie ( but not a recent one, I'm sad to say) then,
I cheated and saw Andyroo mentioned Frasier. Of course. The kind of slick dialogue, wonderfully understated humour that is in every episode is here in your first chapter.
Will read more when I can.
Good luck with this.
Helen (All Expenses Paid) Ducal

I love this idea. And I love your writing.
People talk about natural voice and talent.
Well you have it.
This is the ace of spades.
The humor is both laugh out loud and subtle at times. I am happy to see this rising in the charts.
Donald is a character I could get behind.
Backed-T.L Tyson-Seeking ELeanor

I read Ch.1, and then 13 to see how things were going. This is honed to perfection and definitely six-speed. The author is obviously deeply well-read and an astute observer of human nature. I think we're seeing here the natural successor to the other Roth. Backed.

Charley, I have only read two chapters but will definitely come back for more. Beautifully written, funny and refreshing. You make me wish I was American because, at its best, American humour is THE best. Your dialogue leaps off the page and would do wonderfully on television as well as on bookshelves.

Can't wait to read the rest as soon as time permits. Shelved, of course.

Best Wishes

Anna (Black Damask)

Oh what a fantastic read this is. I've laughed my socks off. You have a wonderful way of telling the story through dialogue which is a talent in itself I just cannot fault it. Backed with absolute pleasure, Lynne, Brooklyn Bridge.

A midlife crisis is fueld by a life spent in mediocrity without risk of adventure. just an opinion. Shelved.

Hi Charley,
I've really enjoyed reading this. A great pitch pulls us right into Donald's life and the chapters don't disappoint. The first line of chapter two alone (the boy that girls left for someone else) is outstanding. How could we not connect with Donald after reading that? Later in that chapter, when Lori wants him to kiss her: great scene, but there's a line: 'Donald knelt down to pick up both his heart and his stomach which, somehow, had burst from his body and fell to his feet.' I don't think you need 'somehow' and 'fell' should be 'fallen'. I also think in general you could reduce the number of 'Donalds' and replace with he/him. But apart from those minor points this is a great read.
Cheers,
Simon (Back to Life)

Good engrossing read. Just watch out for the occasional lapses in tenses.
Best,
nans

First the good news - This is really good. The writing is really good and I actually want to keep reading.
The bad news - There is no bad news except that at the start of chapter 2 I went to get last night's Caipirinha out of the fridge and thank God I did because 2 is quite long. This is not a bad thing necessarily but it does slow down noticeably about a third in, especially in comparison to Ch 1 so you migh think about tightening.

There are four of five errors in English Grammar that popped out - mixing of tenses in sentences especially. Let me find one ...In the para that begins 'Donald knelt -' 'Fell' should be fallen. There are a few more of these later.

You evoke the period well and I was enjoying the comparisons with our PCWorld however one glaring error is that people didnt say African-American in the 60s. I remember in Uni writing a period piece and falling back from the word nigger or wog but the truth is, that was normal in the 70s. Maybe Im wrong this being set in the US with MLK and all that.

RIght - I have to go and water the dust bowl that is commonly known as a garden before it gets dark and I cant see the spiders - the grey hairy ones the size of tennis balls but I will read more of this.

Perfect pace, fully formed characters Donald, Chloe et al. It has dialogue which leaps from the page and breaths with real air. It's a sharply penned story with your dry sense of humour laced through it and there are a plenty of stand out witty lines. Descriptively it seems spot on too. An excellent read that I'm happy to back.

Forget genres. This is literature. Beautifully-written, life-affirming literature. As the old publicity one-liners extracted from the reviews of Brian Rix farces used to say, 'I laughed 'til I cried', 'Kept me in stitches!' Yes, it's very, very funny and the humour is quick, slick and usually pointed, e.g. 'Chicago Irish, which Irish people from Dublin some day aspire to be' and, of lawyers talking about things being black and white, 'Shit, it's our job to make things look gray.' And you don't have to be either Jewish or American to enjoy it. By the grace of this novel, while reading it you temporarily become both. It's a human story and these feel like real people, six lovers in a kind of up-to-the-minute Shakespearian comedy of errors and surprises. And the reader wants them to be happy - in their own ways - in the end. It's not all humour, though, the author knows exactly how and when to inject pathos. Just enough to make you realise he has a serious purpose: to broaden our perception of people and life by leading us in an exploration of relationships between characters that matter more and more to us as the story progresses.
He can teach, too. We get an accessible and enjoyable explanation of how futures trading works; how it was done in the past and is done now. In fact, everything Charlie Warrady touches upon tells you subtly and engagingly that he knows a lot about it.
His portrait of Donald, the Jew whose favourite expletive is 'Jesus Christ....', is so true to life. This reviewer lived for some years in Johannesburg. At the convent my daughter went to there were more Jews than Catholics. Why? It was a good school where you learned stuff, that's why.
Please, somebody, publish this, the next Great American Novel.
Alan (aka Lee)

Charley, got to read a couple of chapters, this is a real of the time book. I can relate, I rember it all, the feelings, the illustrations you portay were spot on. Going to read more.
Yer Redneck Bubba

The office was neo-futurisitc shiny metal Plexiglass minimalist black leather but surprisingly comfortable... HA!

To you? Or to my myself?... typo

You have a very good sense of humor. The banter really carries us along and is a good way to get us the background information without boring us. nicely done!

backed.

I loved this.
'Donald called on Monday morning to schedule an appointment for early Thursday morning because he knew he was going to need it after Wednesday night.'
Instantly got me hooked. Sharp, clever writing and dialogue.
Your description of the five-speed and Donalds three-speed 'he could keep up, and still stay a step behind.' Spot on. I read the first five chapters and then decided that I would have to read the rest. I have planned tomorrow morning around doing just that.
Real talent and should be published as soon as possible!

Backed with pleasure.

Claire

What a joy: this had me laughing out loud within the first couple of pages, and not many books do that. The exchange in the psychiatrist's office is sharp, laconic, funny as hell and - to boot - a brilliant exposition device and scene-setter. Poignancy kicks in as we go back to adolescence and the 60s but the wry humour does not flag for a sentence. Brilliant. Finally...something on the site I can read for pleasure and not out of a sense of duty. Instantly and unreservedly bookshelved

What a joy: this had me laughing out loud within the first couple of pages, and not many books do that. The exchange in the psychiatrist's office is sharp, laconic, funny as hell and - to boot - a brilliant exposition device and scene-setter. Poignancy kicks in as we go back to adolescence and the 60s but the wry humour does not flag for a sentence. Brilliant. Finally...something on the site I can read for pleasure and not out of a sense of duty. Instantly and unreservedly bookshelved

What a joy: this had me laughing out loud within the first couple of pages, and not many books do that. The exchange in the psychiatrist's office is sharp, laconic, funny as hell and - to boot - a brilliant exposition device and scene-setter. Poignancy kicks in as we go back to adolescence and the 60s but the wry humour does not flag for a sentence. Brilliant. Finally...something on the site I can read for pleasure and not out of a sense of duty. Instantly and unreservedly bookshelved

"Donald was the kind of guy girls leave for other men"
U are good at arousing certain emotions.
5speed is the kind of novel i will buy and buy again!

"Donald Roth was the guy girls leave for other men"
Pathetic!
U know u are good at arousing a certain kind of emotion. This is the kind of book i would buy and buy again!

I like this Charley. Having grown up around the same time, (albeit on the other side of the pond) I appreciate the accuracy with which your evoke those times. Having also grown up with a Jewish best friend I found the description of the Bar Mitzvah particularly good (he used Yellow Submarine not Mary Hopkin). You have quickly built the character of Donald and he is a very likable one and we knew from just a few words in the session with the shrink. Good luck. John

Funny! You open with a pretty cool statement on pretension and from the narrative is full of clever turns of phrase, simile, and metaphor. The very definition of Creative Writing! Very very funny dialogue --I pay you to ask these questions?-- excellent job, Charley. It's right up my alley.

Cheers

John

Your way with words is delightful and witty. And this starts out with humor and intrigue. I read a few chapters and can tell you have something very polished to show to the editors. I wish you the best in this and all your writng endeavors, as I can see you are talented. Shelved!!!!

This is a really fun read, I enjoyed it a lot,....backed.
the few chapters I read...Great characters I could readily
get into. Excellent social insight.
Suggestions.
At one point I noticed too many Dans and Donalds perhaps.
No mass murders, ghosts or even a vampire...no need!
Lots of best wishes with this,
Must fix the gears on my bike,,,,,,,,,,,Mikey (The Free)

My books ready when you are!!

Mel
Impeding Justice

What a great story - I love the sense of time and place in the flashbacks - shelved.

This reads so professionally that I'm not going to give any advice. The dialogue is #1 is witty and urbane and the flashback sequence took me right back to my own childhood even though there ought to be no similarities, given I was brought up dirt poor in northern England (Think - The Full Monte)

I really hope this get to ED

John Booth (Shaddowdon)

This is brilliant! This is not just funny, witty, tragi-comic, poignant, it also a social history. I can't fault what I have read so far. This is definitely the best novel that I have read on this website. I read the chapters to my girlfriend and she laughed out loud too. I'll check out your website. Do you put clips on YouTube?

This book really speaks to me. As an adolescent I had a 'Spider' bike which had no gears while everyone else had a 'Chopper' bike which had 5 gears. I am sure that my self-esteem was affected by the type of bike I had or my contemporaries' reaction to it.

Anyway I'll back the book in about five minutes. Good luck!

Okay just finished reading. Very nice! You have a great, easy style to your writing that makes the story accessible. Of course I love the humorous moments. Backed!

Stacy
A Grand Murder

I enjoyed reading about Donald and I think the dialogue is very funny. I think most of us look at others and feel we are living at a 3 speed level and others are at 5 speed. I think this is well written and I will put it on my shelf and read more.

Adrian

Hi Charley, I've read the first two chapters and you definitely have an interesting story here. I want to find out what goes on with the nlaws, for a minute there I thought that Donald is going to have an affair with Chloe? Surely not, his poor son, so I'm holding out for him having an affair with her mother! You have a really good character in Donald, your dialogue is also really good, very sharp, quick and keeps the pace up. I like the background to why Donald is the way he is, an under achiever, an "sure its grand" kind of person. I did notice a little bit of repetition but nothing an edit won't sort. Its on my shelf. Helena (A Load of Rubbish)

Hello Charly, sorry it took so long to get here.

Clearly, dialogue is your strong-point and it really zings off the page in a way which brings the characters to life--so much so that I think you can edit a lot of the narrative surrounding it.

The first chapter could even work as dialogue only--nothing just the interchanges between Roth and the psychiatrist. Might be an interesting experiment to try out.

The weakness for me is in two areas:- Your narrative voice comes across as trying to be funny. I think you could ease off in the narrative and allow the humour to come through naturally from the situations and dialogue.

Secondly, there are moments where you give the whole history of a character--indeed chapter two is just that--and it really kills the tension of the scene. A lot of this information could be fed in later in the story. We don't need to know the whole life-story of the character to understand him. Donald comes across strongly enough in his dialogue and in his attitudes to his wife to be all the explanation we need at the beginning.

In short, you have a great situation, cool dialogue and an interesting premise, but I think you need to think about editing and restructuring some of the scenes.

This is just my opinion of course. Feel free to ignore, or ask for clarification.

Best,

Richard

Thanks for your message, Charley. I'm happy to exchange reviews.

I did enjoy this but I do think it needs a lot of work. The dialogue is great with some wonderfully quirky, often very funny exchanges ('I told her I'm having an affair', 'That doesn't mean she's stopped talking to me' - fab!!) but the prose feels very clunky and overwritten. I think it would read much better if you shortened your sentences, kept the language simpler and cut back on the convoluted imagery/ideas. Donald is a strange but very engaging character and I was wondering whether you've considered writing this solely from his POV? Maybe even first person? His recounting of Chloe's visit is really clear and very funny and I think maybe if the prose was more like this the novel would be a smoother, more enjoyable read? Just a thought.

Best of luck with this. For ambition and the 'Dewey Decimal Style' line (!!) on my shelf. Thanks. E

Observations on Ch1:
'In Chicago, it...etc' - the 'it' reads like the psychiatrist's office not the road? maybe re-phrase?

'High rents...etc' - I was confused by this sentence? how can 'high rents' and 'luxurious surroundings' be pretentious?

I don't think something can be 'neo-futuristic'??

Some commas would make the read easier?

'too cliched' not 'too cliche'??

'They evidently produced two chairs...' - confusing? who are 'they'??

'...more prop than circumstance' - not sure 'circumstance' is the right word??

'Christmas in Stuttgart...etc' - I don't get this??

'The doctor offered...etc' - redundant?

'If I had eyes in the back of my head...etc' - great idea but doesn't quite work??

Missing quotation marks: "She said she seemed like...etc

I've run out of reading time today so I'm WLing this one so I can come back and finish. So far, so great!

Thanks,
Stacy
A Grand Murder

Chapt. 2
"recant his day to his father"? Charley! I looked it up; recant means "to withdraw or renounce (beliefs or statements formerly held"). No doubt you meant to say "recount." But that error doesn't mean we're all going to throw you off the train..

Well I'll be damned, Charley, you have stopped screwing around and turned this into a by god story!
Oh shit, I hope it doesnt' get any better or I will have to stop writing.my own stuff.

Oh Jesus, do all mothers tell their sons they're gonna cut off his dick if he doesn't stop playing with it?
I was in my twenties and in the army before I stopped checking every morning to see if Mom had sneaked in and cut off my dick while I was asleep.
Looking good. I'm ready for more.
Vince - DOGTOWN USA.

Chapt 2 5ive Speed

"recant his day to his father"? Charley! I looked it up; recant means "to withdraw or renounce (beliefs or statements formerly held"). No doubt you meant to say "recount." But that error doesn't mean we're all going to throw you off the train..

Well I'll be damned, Charley, you have stopped screwing around and turned this into a by god story!
Oh shit, I hope it doesn't get any better or I will have to stop writing.my own stuff.

Oh Jesus, do all mothers tell their sons they're gonna cut off his dick if he doesn't stop playing with it?
I was in my twenties and in the army before I stopped checking every morning to see if Mom had sneaked in and cut off my dick while I was asleep.
Looking good. I'm ready for more.
Vince - DOGTOWN USA.