Chancey on Top

by John Wareham

Book Overview

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1566491746
• ISBN13: 9781566491747
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: Welcome Rain Publishers
• Length: 349 Pages
• Weight: 0.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.9" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

John Wareham, Wow!

I tried to make Chancey last and last, limiting myself to a few pages a day for the last hundred or so. I wanted the book to go on and on, looking forward every day to reading it as I tried to stretch it beyond the finish line. It is a wonderfully written, completely engaging story, and regardless of Chancey's many faults, I still rooted for him, I wanted him to succeed, to have his cake and eat it too. Perhaps I related to him because I see him in me, and despite my many faults, I still want to have it and eat it as well. Somehow John Wareham does it here, just like in The President's Therapist - (which you must read if you have not done so already) - again he has found a way to confront me with the many pieces of myself through a cast of wacky, real, human beings. All I can say is "where is the next one?" Among other things, I am helping an actor develop his business these days, a lovely guy who told me last night that he used to be an "executive placement officer". I said, "Really, have you ever heard of Chancey Haste?" "No" says he. "No kidding? You'll meet him next week. He's quite a character; I think you'll love him." Chancey On Top... Do yourself a favour; scroll right back to the top of this page and click on the order button. You'll be delighted you did.

A startling and original piece of work

I stumbled upon Chancey on Top. I had never heard of the book. And I had never heard of John Wareham. I was blown away. I've read so many novels that have been touted as great and here's the real thing. The writing is stunning. It's original, and evocative. The tale is compelling. I don't know why Chancey on Top didn't receive more attention when it was published, or maybe I missed something. But what a rollercoaster ride.

Subtle beauty

I don't remember why or where I picked up Chancey On Top. I do remember feeling intrigued by its promise to show me the hidden story of a driven executive's journey into the spotlight of success and personal reckoning. I began reading it slowly, then couldn't put it down until I had finished it. The story captivated me. The characters charmed and amused me. I laughed out loud, often. But it was Wareham's beautiful gift of prose colored by his wise reliance on past geniuses such as Wilde and Shakespeare that delighted me most. This book is a sweet gift of subtle beauty. I may have to read it once more.

Wareham on top!

"CHANCEY ON TOP" During the 1970's, in another life, I worked as a management consultant in the four cities of Wellington, Sydney, Christchurch and Melbourne. I was aware of the pioneering work carried out by, former New Zealander, John Wareham, who was the acknowledged leader then in corporate headhunting. Wareham's first book flew like a comet, across the antipodean skies, and seared the best selling lists on both sides of the Tasman Sea. At the Wellington book launch, James K. Baxter, one of the major English poets of the 20th Century, together with Wareham, made page one of the NZ dailies and were illustrated together in a brilliant black & white photograph which is now part of Kiwi folklore; and the first part of Wareham's dazzling novel CHANCEY ON TOP recalls this brave new world in a bittersweet tour de force. I visited the elegant Wareham offices in Sydney's Australia Square and, in my mind's eye, from the stylish visitors lounge on Level 46; I can perceive that the world was very different then and the sort of uncomplicated chic displayed in the Wareham Associates suite was then rare; CHANCEY ON TOP brings all this back. Yet, that's just the first part of the story. The scene changes and shifts to New York and London. There, we read of life, love and the rocky terrain of corporate headhunting in our contemporary world; and the narrative follows the journey that Chancey Haste continues to make in his efforts to find himself. Along the way, in his search for meaning, Wareham-through Chancey-pays homage to a number of favourite authors including Oscar Wilde, William Shakespeare and Albert Camus as well as Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Percy Bysshe Shelley and with a literary nod of the head towards W. Somerset Maugham's "Of Human Bondage". CHANCEY ON TOP addresses questions of unconfessable sins, shattered dreams, and lives unlived, yet ultimately provides redemption of a very special cost and kind, for Chancey -- and deliverance on yet another level for the reader. Wareham, in this wonderful book, imparts a lifetime's experiences, knowledge and wisdom; and very gently, and thoughtfully, prods the reader, and Chancey, towards a position that will heal and reward. CHANCEY ON TOP is a stunning success on many levels; but make sure you read it twice; the full flavor and subtlety is only captured on a second reading.(395 words)