Vertical

I can only assume that the people who raved about Vertical saw the movie Sideways, and did not read the book Sideways. I saw this with all sincerity - the man who wrote Sideways is not the man who "wrote" Vertical. Vertical reeks of laziness, over-editing, and dumbing-down for a larger audience. Nothing is left to the imagination, the book kills you word by unnecessary word. Despite the fact that Miles and Jack have been friends for many, many years, the book is loaded with unnecessary and completely unrealistic dialogue. It is sappy and dull. The sex scenes are contrived. Miles lurches between rapture and despair in the same paragraph, and yet you never, ever get a clear understanding of why or how this happens. Everything is improbable, and the book contains nothing of the raw humor and originality of Sideways. The endless fabulous wines, all just splendiferous and all described virtually the same way, bored the hell out of me. The entire scene at Foxen was completely unbelievable and utterly ridiculous. There was nothing even remotely interesting, despite the utterly contrived and ridiculously over-the-top antics that weigh this junker down.

Before you condemn my review as bitter or unfair, compare any random page from Sideways to any random page from Vertical. They were NOT written by the same person. Certainly, Pickett came up with the story, but he called it in, and let it be slaughtered by writing assistants and editors.

Vertical is a terrble book, and I want my money back. Is that possible when you buy the Kindle edition?

This book was quite a disappointment. Yes, there are some very funny moments but overall the book seemed rushed and was poorly edited. Some of my criticisms:

- Very little character development. It's all Miles and his 8 syllable words. In addition, Miles/Rex is so full of himself that it makes the writing suffer. Rex must have written the word "iPhone" 100 times. Rex, get over yourself, big guy.

Jack is reduced to saying "Homes" 50 times. Miles' stroke-addled mother is reduced to saying "I'll be a good girl". (She had a stroke, Rex, not an age reduction).

The story is just not that compelling to overcome this narcissistic rant. It's a shame.

*** Mild spoilers throughout ***

Like many folks who have read this book, I suspect, I came at it first from the movie version of Sideways, which was fabulous, and got me interested in reading the novel on which the film was based. That got me to Rex Pickett's tale, which I thought was very good; not quite as good a book as the film version was a movie, but very good. So I was looking forward to continuing the journey and really, really wanted to enjoy Vertical. But I just couldn't...

As others note, Vertical is set seven years after the events in Sideways. With art mirroring life, Miles is now enjoying west coast wine celebrity by virtue of having finally gotten a pretty good book published which by incredible good fortune was then turned into a highly successful movie. So far so good; so what's my problem?

Well, first is the setting. It's another road trip, but this time the mission is transporting Miles's elderly mother back to her hometown of Sheboygan (determinedly down-market) to live with her sister. Again this includes passing through wine country, in this case the Willamette Valley of Oregon, but the descriptions of wines this time seem like canned drop-ins. I can imagine an index card somewhere with "Winery XYZ" at the top and few bullet points which then get ladled into the text. Also unsettling are several instances where Miles, in his new-found celebrity role, is booked to give speeches before various groups. These are reproduced verbatim and with Miles's descriptions of the crowd going absolutely demented with hilarity. But the speeches are just not that funny. Is this an attempt at an Unreliable Narrator device? Or has Rex Pickett actually experienced crowds going berserk for the weakest of humor -- maybe if enough wine is being consumed. And I'm finally sick of the word "quaff".

But a story is about characters, not setting, and the central issue for me was that I did not find the character relationships to be working. The characters have certainly evolved since their Sideways days, and that's great. Indeed, full marks to Rex Pickett for the fact that Vertical is certainly not a rewritten "Sideways II". Unfortunately, though, every character has evolved with monotonous negativity. Miles is now manipulative, mendacious, and insensitive. Jack, previously a successful, charming rogue, is now a hopeless loser. But the worst fates are provided to the female characters. Both the Maya and Terra characters only get brief, largely off-stage cameos, but enough to tell us how bitter and used they feel. The gorgeous Maya is now described with crow's feet on her face from too much sun and too many cigarettes. And Miles's mother is now a stroke-addled, incontinent invalid -- and it is in that condition that she serves as the central supporting character and is on practically every page of the book.

*** Heavier spoilers below ***

As the novel progresses, the litany of loss and damage just goes on and on. We hear about Mile's sorry excuse for a father and brothers. There is a visit to Miles's lost uncle who lives in a dismal flop house. Jack suffers a "hilarious" medical mishap that involves having a doctor minster to his private parts in a manner not for the squeamish. The mother's caretaker spirals into monosyllabic hostility and eventually decamps, leaving Miles in desperate straits. Jack bugs out too. Even the mother's dog gets hurt.

Don't get me wrong: it's great that the characters have evolved, and there is no reason to have a fairy tale story where every character is richer, better looking,and happier than before. Clearly Rex Pickett wanted to move opposite the direction of happy-go-lucky light comedy, and had some things he wanted to say about the selfishness of success, and how loss enters relationships. But for crying out loud, EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER has become a pathetic basket case, every relationship involves using people and ends badly, and just about everything goes wrong. Coming to this from Sideways is like picking up a new P. G. Wodehouse story and discovering it was actually written by Chuck Palahniuk.

I will say the book contains heartfelt descriptions of what it's like to minster to an elderly family member who is now an invalid. Indeed if you are actually in that space in your own life this probably could be a suicidally depressing book. Yes, the last few pages (out of four hundred!)have some moving writing, as Miles and his mother finally connect and she revisits the scenes of her childhood. But even this veers so dangerously close to melodrama as to verge on (unfunny) parody.

Will Vertical do for the Willamette Valley what Sideways did for Santa Ynez? Doubtful. Uplifting or funny? Don't make me laugh (really). Well written? Somewhat. Worth a read? Barely.

*** Mild spoilers throughout ***

Like many folks who have read this book, I suspect, I came at it first from the movie version of Sideways, which was fabulous, and got me interested in reading the novel on which the film was based. That got me to Rex Pickett's tale, which I thought was very good; not quite as good a book as the film version was a movie, but very good. So I was looking forward to continuing the journey and really, really wanted to enjoy Vertical. But I just couldn't...

As others note, Vertical is set seven years after the events in Sideways. With art mirroring life, Miles is now enjoying west coast wine celebrity by virtue of having finally gotten a pretty good book published which by incredible good fortune was then turned into a highly successful movie. So far so good; so what's my problem?

Well, first is the setting. It's another road trip, but this time the mission is transporting Miles's elderly mother back to her hometown of Sheboygan (determinedly down-market) to live with her sister. Again this includes passing through wine country, in this case the Willamette Valley of Oregon, but the descriptions of wines this time seem like canned drop-ins. I can imagine an index card somewhere with "Winery XYZ" at the top and few bullet points which then get ladled into the text. Also unsettling are several instances where Miles, in his new-found celebrity role, is booked to give speeches before various groups. These are reproduced verbatim and with Miles's descriptions of the crowd going absolutely demented with hilarity. But the speeches are just not that funny. Is this an attempt at an Unreliable Narrator device? Or has Rex Pickett actually experienced crowds going berserk for the weakest of humor -- maybe if enough wine is being consumed. And I'm finally sick of the word "quaff".

But a story is about characters, not setting, and the central issue for me was that I did not find the character relationships to be working. The characters have certainly evolved since their Sideways days, and that's great. Indeed, full marks to Rex Pickett for the fact that Vertical is certainly not a rewritten "Sideways II". Unfortunately, though, every character has evolved with monotonous negativity. Miles is now manipulative, mendacious, and insensitive. Jack, previously a successful, charming rogue, is now a hopeless loser. But the worst fates are provided to the female characters. Both the Maya and Terra characters only get brief, largely off-stage cameos, but enough to tell us how bitter and used they feel. The gorgeous Maya is now described with crow's feet on her face from too much sun and too many cigarettes. And Miles's mother is now a stroke-addled, incontinent invalid -- and it is in that condition that she serves as the central supporting character and is on practically every page of the book.

*** Heavier spoilers below ***

As the novel progresses, the litany of loss and damage just goes on and on. We hear about Mile's sorry excuse for a father and brothers. There is a visit to Miles's lost uncle who lives in a dismal flop house. Jack suffers a "hilarious" medical mishap that involves having a doctor minster to his private parts in a manner not for the squeamish. The mother's caretaker spirals into monosyllabic hostility and eventually decamps, leaving Miles in desperate straits. Jack bugs out too. Even the mother's dog gets hurt.

Don't get me wrong: it's great that the characters have evolved, and there is no reason to have a fairy tale story where every character is richer, better looking,and happier than before. Clearly Rex Pickett wanted to move opposite the direction of happy-go-lucky light comedy, and had some things he wanted to say about the selfishness of success, and how loss enters relationships. But for crying out loud, EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER has become a pathetic basket case, every relationship involves using people and ends badly, and just about everything goes wrong. Coming to this from Sideways is like picking up a new P. G. Wodehouse story and discovering it was actually written by Chuck Palahniuk.

I will say the book contains heartfelt descriptions of what it's like to minster to an elderly family member who is now an invalid. Indeed if you are actually in that space in your own life this probably could be a suicidally depressing book. Yes, the last few pages (out of four hundred!)have some moving writing, as Miles and his mother finally connect and she revisits the scenes of her childhood. But even this veers so dangerously close to melodrama as to verge on (unfunny) parody.

Will Vertical do for the Willamette Valley what Sideways did for Santa Ynez? Doubtful. Uplifting or funny? Don't make me laugh (really). Well written? Somewhat. Worth a read? Barely.

This sequel to "Sideways" is not as good as the first book, but still has its moments. Whereas in "Sideways" the comedy scenes mostly tended to be very funny, in "Vertical," most feel forced and boorish, not funny. (If you think it is hilarious to have Jack overdose on Viagra, have priapism, and have to have a needle shoved into his penis and have blood spurt out all over the operating theater, then you'll find this book hilarious.) Miles' financial success has not improved his character. Whereas he was a lovable neurotic in "Sideways," he's more of a manipulative jerk in "Vertical." He's become more like Jack in his misuse of women, but without Jack's genuine, uncomplicated love for the fair sex. There's some strange stuff going on here. Miles gives speeches to oenophiles that include inappropriate, crude sexual language, and Rex Pickett has the audience laughing uproariously. Really? If this stuff really happened, oenophiles are kind of scummy people. And I have a huge vocabulary, but there were 4 or 5 words that I'd never seen before in my life. That's a too showy and pretentious for good writing.

This book is saved by the genuine feeling and good writing of the last 80 pages, in which Miles quits drinking, sobers up, realizes that his half-baked, wine-fueled plan to take his mother to live with her sister in Wisconsin isn't going to work, despite his good intentions and best efforts. These scenes are so moving and well written that to me they made the whole book worthwhile. The stuff that's supposed to be funny isn't, but the stuff that is more serious and tragic works very well.

I read this book in about 3 days and that is saying something. I kept wanting to know what was going to happen next so it does keep your attention. I think it's actually a very different story with a completely different direction from it's predecessor. Yeah, there is Pickett's writing style of sometimes using words that most of us will probably have to look up, thoughts about wine, sex, and traveling to somewhere new, but I think it lacks the adventure quality of the first novel. The search for great wine, horny women and money is no more so things are more predictable.

This is deeper and the focus is more on Miles. Jack seems to play a background character who is just simply there along with anyone else in the book until the end when the Mother moves to the forefront of the story. But you get more emotionally involved. You can feel a bit more for the characters and how things in life have changed them. There are a few laugh out loud moments. The sexual descriptions and adjectives are a little more intense then they were in the first novel. The writer does reference his fame and ensures we know he was the whole reason for the base of the popular movie that followed. The Williamette Valley plays a little background in the book and that is good for that area. I have visited many wineries there and it is a great place to base some of this book.

I support adventures in wine. I support books with some spice to them. I support Rex Pickett. Highly recommend!

This is a cheap, depressing, and badly written attempt to cash in on Sideways, especially the movie. I couldn't care less about any of the poorly defined characters, no one is memorable in a nice way like Maya, and the action at IPNC is only 70 pages out of 400. No, I didn't read Sideways, but love the movie. This is crap. I couldn't even finish it.

This book is just another hero's journey type story, complete with his merry band of misfits. The first 80% of the book is full of sex, drinking, and Viagra. The last portion of the book takes a gloomy turn, that seems forced and poorly developed. I know what Pickett and therefore Miles wants to try to "say" or "write" but he just didn't do a good job of it. Maybe a better editor could have helped him out. With regards to the writing, I don't know if it's just Pickett who likes to use archaic, formal (aka "big" words) from his Webster's Collegiate Dictionary or Picket channeling Miles (the book is written in the first person) but the use of "big" words just don't work in the overall style of prose and the character. On the plus side, this still is an entertaining read that's good enough for a 3-5 hour flight, depending on how fast you read. Be warned that you'll have to look up words in the dictionary, even if you do possess a good vocabulary...this is made easier on the Kindle with the built-in dictionary function.

As Rex put it himself: if you manage to fuse comedy and tragedy, you will get something good out of it (not a precise quote, but you get the point...) He, once again, did it well. I am seeing the movie in my head, as I am reading the book - the reading is so vivid and realistic. Another quote comes to my mind: sometimes the realily is more fiction than fiction...

Not mentioning that this is yet another excellent guide to the wine country, you will get tons of good quotes out of the book; but more importantly, the examples of the true man friendship.

I am now at 63% on my Kindle, and I can't wait to find out what is going to happen next in Miles' journey...

"Vertical" picks up on Miles's story a few years after Sideways, with Miles riding high on the success of his novel. Jack, of course, is divorced and broke. The characters are taken through situations that are variously hilarious and heartbreaking.

The heart of the novel is Miles's relationship with his aging and ailing mother. Part of that story is how Miles relates to Snapper, his mother's "lap shark" terrier. The unfolding of the triad of mother, son, and mother's bitey gives profound insight into the human-animal bond. Dog novel of the year!