Chancey on Top by John Wareham

This is a witty and irreverent picaresque novel that exposes with wicked insight and aplomb the similar hypocrises that underlie romantic love and modern business. Editorial Reviews From Publishers Weekly Offering an unusual spin on a love triangle plot, leadership consultant Wareham (How to Break Out of Prison) explores lies told in the name of obsessive love and corporate head-hunting. Australian Chancey Haste is a smooth-talking recruiter with a beautiful and supportive wife, two kids and a passion for expanding his eponymous firm. Then he becomes entranced with Elan Haverford, the stunning (and young) daughter of a New Zealand client, and after a brief but ardent pursuit, Chancey begins making regular trips to see her. His marriage holds up during the book's relatively lighthearted first half, and, after much poetry-quoting and love-making, his affair with Elan seems to end. When they meet again by chance, Chancey is living in New York, working in his firm's U.S. office, and Elan has a frumpy aristocratic husband from London in tow. Sparks fly despite the intervening years, but Elan refuses to rekindle the flame. Desperate to see her, Chancey decides to follow Elan to England on the pretense of a business trip, but his wife, who has known about the affair for some time, gives him the heave-ho. What Chancey finds in England is a sudden and terrible tragedy, redeemed barely, if at all, by Chancey's evolution from an unfaithful and often despicable fop to a man who finally understands what he's lost. Though Wareham employs too many disturbing dream sequences and his dialogue errs on the side of falsely snappy, his writing is assured throughout. As an exploration of the moral quandaries of head-hunting and the passionate heights of sensual love, this is a strange and intermittently affecting tale. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review John Wareham possesses the cool, clear eyes of a seeker of wisdom and truth. -- The New York Times Wildly entertaining ... dazzling ... brilliant ... showcases a full spectrum from the comedic to the sublime ... ranks among the finest novels ever. -- New York Observer A beautifully written, deeply moving novel that chronicles a riveting psychological journey that sweeps the reader to a shattering catharsis. -- Bernard Berkowitz, co-author, How To Be Your Own Best Friend A magnificent yarn ... funny and sexy ... profound and moving. Captures the conflicts and inner struggles so many upward strivers experience. -- Harry Levinson, Ph.D., author, Corporate Leadership in Action, Professor, Harvard Medical School. Funny, sexy, surreal, captivating, brilliant--and the kind of thing that upsets the PC police. -- Nadine Strossen, national president, ACLU, and author of Defending Pornography Hat's off to Chancey! The finest contemporary showcasing of the sonnet form, in my humble opinion. -- Professor Charles Defanti, author, The Wages of Expectation: the biography of Edward Dahlberg Inspired--hilarious, whimsical, philosophically savvy. -- Kirkus Reviews Profound, profane, funny and unputdownable . . . Chandler Haste himself is something new. -- Eli Noam, author of Interconnecting the Network of Networks Stunning--ardent, strange and affecting. An exploration of moral quandaries from John Wareham, whose writing is assured throughout. -- Publishers Weekly Superb--wildly entertaining and brilliantly relayed ... a literary bonbon that ranks among the finest novel ever. -- The New York Observer From the Publisher Brilliant, sexy and surreal - the Bridges of Madison County as photographed by Herb Ritts. ? Kevin Roberts, worldwide chief executive, Saatchi & Saatchi Hats off to Chancey! The finest contemporary showcasing of the sonnet form, in my humble opinion.? Charles Defanti, professor of literature, Kean University, author, The Wages of Expection: the biography of Edward Dahlberg. Profound, profane, funny and unputdownable . . . eye-popping scenes and insights. Chandler Haste himself is something new: a highly literate corporate creature in hot pursuit of money, sex, love and enlightenment?even as God, the Devil and various sacred cows seem to be in pursuit of him. Beautifully written and ultimately uplifting. ? Eli Noam, professor, Columbia Business School. Those who find their wisdom in wild and witty packaging will love Chancey On Top . . . a beautifully written, deeply moving novel that chronicles a riveting psychological journey that sweeps the reader to a shattering catharsis. The end comes all too quickly, but the characters live on. ? Bernard Berkowitz, Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist, co-author, How To Be Your Own Best Friend. A magnificent yarn . . . funny and sexy . . . racy and contentious . . . literary and erudite . . . ultimately profound and moving. Captures the inner conflicts of conscience and provides authentic insights into attachments and transitions, love and enlightenment, and the struggles so many executives experience. ? Harry Levinson Ph.D., clinical psychologist, author, CEO: Corporate Leadership in Action, professor, Harvard Medical School. From the Author If IÂ'd not entered the consulting world I flatter myself that I might have been a full time novelist. I wrote my first book to promote my firm. When it was nominated for a national award I got hooked on the process, and just kept on going. It was a treat to see my business books become bestsellers, and I also got a lot of pleasure from the reaction to How to Break Out of Prison. It was a challenge to write a cross-over self-development work for overachievers and prison inmates alike. ItÂ's always satisfying when people say that you helped them get what they want from life. All in all, however, IÂ'm proudest of my novel, Chancey On Top. It chronicles the psychological journey of a flawed protagonist struggling with the strikingly similar hypocrisies of love and business. My publisher says the only good poet is a dead poet, but the chance to inject a little poetry into the passion seemed too good to miss, and IÂ've been excited by the warm reaction of literary critics to this conceit. I was happy, too, with how it all played out. I set out to merely entertain and didn't know where it would wind up. The ending came as a shocker. Really. From the Inside Flap Chandler Chancey Haste glances into the rearview mirror of the limousine that bears him across ManhattanÂ's Triboro Bridge and catches the reflection of a scorching affair from his picaresque past overleaping oceans to engulf him . . . The story begins with a backward glance to a bouncing check and a reckless antipodean infatuation. It sweeps through marbled World Trade Center offices where the sweet life seems utterly assured. It ends in the shadows of a murky English mansion where the hero discovers the price of ambition, the value of love, and the meaning of dreams. From the Back Cover As a dedicated bibliophile I say it is absurd to label John WarehamÂ's novel, Chancey On Top, obscene. Yes, a sexually explicit scene pairs the picaresque protagonist with the late Princess Diana. But so what? Like all else between these silky covers, that sensual sojourn is wildly entertaining and brilliantly relayed. The intricate, multi-layered plot showcases a full emotional spectrum, including seamless poetic interludes from the comedic to the sublime. The dazzling denouement then ultimately ranks this literary bonbon among the finest. Sure, the hero, Chancey Haste, is a two-timer, but so is the novel. It is one of those rare works whose cunning moves arouse even as they satisfy. So once is not enough. Full revelation begs the subtle master strokes be savored slowly, second time through. ? Nadine Strossen, ACLU President; author, Defending Pornography; for The New York Observer About the Author John Wareham is author of several bestsellers, including Secrets of a Corporate Headhunter,, and How to Break Out of Prison. He has published widely, including articles and Op-Ed pieces in The New York Times and the Financial Times. (Fuller information available from The Authors' Guild) A leadership psychologist, he has served on the boards of publicly listed companies. His firm, Wareham Associates, specializes in corporate leadership selection and development. He is also founder and chief executive of The Eagles Foundation of America, a non-profit organization dedicated to the rehabilitation of prison inmates.He makes his home in New York.