…lively and funny…Beha's story could be (and is) a light satirical romp across our cultural lowlands, but it is also a meditation on the inchoate impulses that lead people to expose themselves, often literally, to the world…Bashing reality television and those who consume it is easy, but Beha chooses to avoid facile judgment in favor of a lighter touch, a welcome change from the kind of doom-and-gloom think pieces that overbake these concoctions into stale pronouncements on the decline and fall of Western civilization. Beha allows readers to interpret each of the characters' slippery moralities for themselves…
The New York Times Book Review - Michael Ian Black
07/14/2014
A funny novel about bad fame… [a] fast-moving satire by Christopher Beha about the semi-accidental creation of a contemporary two-bit celebrity: sex tape, social networks, and subsequent media circus.” — —New York Magazine
“Arts and Entertainments is a 21st-century Faust written in the style of Muriel Spark.” — —Books & Culture
“Hilarious.” — —Huffington Post
“The ingenious way he plots to get back into his wife’s good graces provides lots of laughs in this very clever takedown of celebrity culture. Beha, deputy editor at Harper’s magazine, also gives his hapless hero plenty of heart in a novel that is both entertaining and thought provoking.” — —Booklist
“A former actor’s sex tape rocks his world. Arts & Entertainments, by Christopher Beha, is a must” — —Cosmopolitan
“...The storytelling is ingenious. Beha infuses the story with rich, potent irony, suggesting how susceptible we are to others’ plotting...Beha gets to have it both ways: His novel is at once brisk and episodic while critiquing the limits of brisk, episodic narrative.” — —Kirkus Reviews
“I tore through Arts & Entertainments in a single evening, riveted by Beha’s satiric indictment of an appallingly recognizable celebrity culture...a deft, clever, and altogether too plausible novel, its last line delivering an unexpected punch that is entirely earned. Read it in an evening and see what I mean.” — —Rebecca Mead, author of My Life in Middlemarch
“Arts and Entertainments is a sharp, hilarious look at what we’ve wrought, and Christopher Beha proves himself a truly gifted novelist. This book is smart and full of feeling and just rips along with narrative thrills. Read it, and then burn your sex tapes.” — —Sam Lipsyte, New York Times Bestselling author of The Ask
“Beha captures in hilarious detail the many insidious ways we rush to cheapen our own identities, and how even as our sense of self veers out of our control, we still never stop trying for some deeper meaning. A funhouse dissection of our current frailties.” — —Dana Spiotta, author of Stone Arabia
“Christopher Beha is one of the most talented young writers at work today.” — —Jess Walter, author of Beautiful Ruins
“An utterly hilarious and believable tale of the flawed and messy vagaries of fame. It’s a wild and funny ride, one which I enjoyed heartily.” — —Jami Attenberg, author of The Middlesteins
“...a moving, discomfiting and at times painful satire on our reality-TV culture that had me cackling in recognition and cowering in shame.” — —Adam Ross, bestselling author of Mr. Peanut
“In this novel, being a star is like being trapped in a Kafka story. As Beha pushes Hartley through the bizarre mechanics of fame, he brings in everything from religion to social media. It’s a funny, sharp study of celebrity and all the strings that come with it. A-” — Entertainment Weekly
“A smart, biting exploration of the tensions between reality and performance, pretending and believing, audience and self, Arts & Entertainments is also a thoughtful meditation on the fundamental human need to believe that somebody out there is watching.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Arts & Entertainments is indeed entertaining, but it’s also a thoughtful reflection on how we shape our own stories.” — Shelf Awareness, Starred Review
“Following on his impressive fiction debut, the somber What Happened to Sophie Wilder , Christopher Beha has pivoted away from that novel’s dark tone to create a wicked satire that’s every bit the equal of its predecessor in tackling serious moral issues.” — BookPage
“Beha’s story could be (and is) a light satirical romp across our cultural lowlands, but it is also a meditation on the inchoate impulses that lead people to expose themselves, often literally, to the world.” — New York Times Book Review
“A darkly witty tale.” — Christianity Today
“Accomplished.” — American Spectator
“It’s short and fun and was an easy read, but there’s also something to chew on. We definitely recommend you add it to your list.” — Entertainment Weekly / Shelf-Life.EW.com
“It’s the funny type of social satire that is less LOL, more, “God, our society is so messed up that this could easily be real, and all I can do is laugh about it,” and that’s what makes it such a treat to read.” — Flavorwire
Christopher Beha is one of the most talented young writers at work today.
Arts and Entertainments is a sharp, hilarious look at what we’ve wrought, and Christopher Beha proves himself a truly gifted novelist. This book is smart and full of feeling and just rips along with narrative thrills. Read it, and then burn your sex tapes.
A former actor’s sex tape rocks his world. Arts & Entertainments, by Christopher Beha, is a must
The ingenious way he plots to get back into his wife’s good graces provides lots of laughs in this very clever takedown of celebrity culture. Beha, deputy editor at Harper’s magazine, also gives his hapless hero plenty of heart in a novel that is both entertaining and thought provoking.
A funny novel about bad fame… [a] fast-moving satire by Christopher Beha about the semi-accidental creation of a contemporary two-bit celebrity: sex tape, social networks, and subsequent media circus.
Arts and Entertainments is a 21st-century Faust written in the style of Muriel Spark.
Hilarious.
I tore through Arts & Entertainments in a single evening, riveted by Beha’s satiric indictment of an appallingly recognizable celebrity culture...a deft, clever, and altogether too plausible novel, its last line delivering an unexpected punch that is entirely earned. Read it in an evening and see what I mean.
Beha captures in hilarious detail the many insidious ways we rush to cheapen our own identities, and how even as our sense of self veers out of our control, we still never stop trying for some deeper meaning. A funhouse dissection of our current frailties.
Accomplished.
...a moving, discomfiting and at times painful satire on our reality-TV culture that had me cackling in recognition and cowering in shame.
Arts & Entertainments is indeed entertaining, but it’s also a thoughtful reflection on how we shape our own stories.
Beha’s story could be (and is) a light satirical romp across our cultural lowlands, but it is also a meditation on the inchoate impulses that lead people to expose themselves, often literally, to the world.
New York Times Book Review
It’s short and fun and was an easy read, but there’s also something to chew on. We definitely recommend you add it to your list.
Entertainment Weekly / Shelf-Life.EW.com
An utterly hilarious and believable tale of the flawed and messy vagaries of fame. It’s a wild and funny ride, one which I enjoyed heartily.
In this novel, being a star is like being trapped in a Kafka story. As Beha pushes Hartley through the bizarre mechanics of fame, he brings in everything from religion to social media. It’s a funny, sharp study of celebrity and all the strings that come with it. A-
Following on his impressive fiction debut, the somber What Happened to Sophie Wilder , Christopher Beha has pivoted away from that novel’s dark tone to create a wicked satire that’s every bit the equal of its predecessor in tackling serious moral issues.
A darkly witty tale.
It’s the funny type of social satire that is less LOL, more, “God, our society is so messed up that this could easily be real, and all I can do is laugh about it,” and that’s what makes it such a treat to read.
A former actor’s sex tape rocks his world. Arts & Entertainments, by Christopher Beha, is a must
The ingenious way he plots to get back into his wife’s good graces provides lots of laughs in this very clever takedown of celebrity culture. Beha, deputy editor at Harper’s magazine, also gives his hapless hero plenty of heart in a novel that is both entertaining and thought provoking.
A funny novel about bad fame… [a] fast-moving satire by Christopher Beha about the semi-accidental creation of a contemporary two-bit celebrity: sex tape, social networks, and subsequent media circus.
2014-06-02
