In the original dustsheet. Black cloth binding with silver title on the spine.

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A black comedy set in modern-day Los Angeles traces the disastrous attempts of an unfaithful husband to make a new start with his family.

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it really make a sound? If a commercial airliner crashes into a suburban neighborhood and society’s only concerns are insurance settlements, salvaging corporate reputations, and creating maudlin media narratives, is it really a tragedy? These are just a couple of the questions Michael Tolkin posits in his brilliant, sardonic, and subversively hysterical novel “Among The Dead.”

Although Tolkin is best known for penning “The Player” (which was adapted into an excellent film by Robert Altman), “Among The Dead” is Tolkin’s greatest achievement to date. The book follows the rise and fall of Frank Gale, a middle-aged loser whose only real achievements in life were being born into a wealthy Bel-Air family and being given a high-paying, pencil-pushing job by his successful brother. When we meet Gale at the beginning of the novel, he’s preparing to confess an affair to his wife during a trip to Mexico with their daughter. However, before Gale can make his confession, his wife and daughter are killed in a plane crash.

In a more conventional author’s hands, “Among The Dead ” would’ve turned into a staid tome on the importance of family and the redemptive value of faith. By filtering the story through Tolkin’s wry wit, however, “Among The Dead ” becomes a magnificent dark comedy about narcissism, nihilism, and the mythology of the American Dream. In the wake of the plane crash, Frank Gale’s first thoughts aren’t of mourning, funerals, or undying love. Instead, his attention is focused on insurance money and having sex with one of the airline’s pretty PR execs. By presenting such a stark portrait of self-absorption, Tolkin isn’t just commenting on Frank Gale, he’s commenting on the parts of our cultural psyche that most people would prefer to ignore. This doesn’t just make for great fiction writing, it also makes for scathing social commentary.

The bottom line: Although many people will recoil from the novel’s psychosocial realism and gallows humor, there’s no doubt that “Among The Dead ” is a masterwork. The novel’s prose is fluid and idiosyncratic and electric. The novel’s sentiments are introspective and chilling and honest. Not only will the discerning reader laugh as he makes his way through “Among The Dead,” he’ll also find himself nodding in grudging agreement with Tolkin’s insights.

Review: One of the most thought producing books of the 20th century. F.B.A.

Michael L. Tolkin (born October 17, 1950) is an American filmmaker and novelist. He has written numerous screenplays, including The Player (1992), which he adapted from his own 1988 novel of the same name, and for which he received the Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay (1993) and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He later wrote a follow-up to the novel, titled The Return of the Player, which was published in 2006.

In 2018, Tolkin served as co-creator of the miniseries Escape at Dannemora with Brett Johnson. The series was based on the real-life 2015 Clinton Correctional Facility escape that led to a massive manhunt for two escaped convicts in upstate New York. In 2022, he served as creator of the miniseries The Offer, which centered on the development of the 1972 film The Godfather.