A hundred and fifty years after Herman Melville’s Ishmael pondered the unlikely worth of ambergris — otherwise known as whale vomit — the stuff is still used in expensive perfumes and remains incredibly valuable. In theory. Trouble is, few people alive can identify it. So while the woman above hopes she’s holding onto ossified whale puke, it is more likely . . .
A major book deal doesn’t guarantee a bestseller. But it does — as in the case of Vikram Chandra’s Sacred Games — ensure that critics will crack the spine. Once you’re over that hurdle, reviews, or at least hottness appraisals, are nearly guaranteed. And when the chatter spreads, people pick up the book. In the major houses, an author’s advance . . .