praise and reviews
Show Up, Look Good
“Show Up, Look Good is a rollicking, laugh-out-loud romp of a novel, a picaresque spin
through fin-de-siècle New York as seen through the eyes of its intrepid, Midwestern-born heroine. Love, loneliness,
roommates from hell, hipsters, the Mob, and murder all play starring roles in this delightful book, and
Wisniewski does justice to them all.”
—Ben Fountain
“a riotously original voice”
—Jonathan Lethem
“a fine mix of arresting humor and keen lucidity, and generously so”
—review in The Iowa Review
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“Show Up, Look Good is a rare, gleaming gem: as soon as I turned the final page,
I felt bereft because I didn't want it to end. Wisniewski has a poet's heart, a jester's wit, and a comedian's dead-on
timing. This is a novel to savor.”
—Christine Sneed
“one smart hoot”
—review in Kirkus Reviews
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“In Show Up, Look Good Mark Wisniewski demonstrates again why he is one of the most
versatile, entertaining, and accomplished writers of his generation.”
—Richard Burgin
“a terrific read”
—review in Psychology Today Creativity Blog
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“Wisniewski ventriloquizes with perfect pitch his female narrator.”
—Kelly Cherry
“Holden-like observation”
—Charles Rammelkamp, review in Chamber Four
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“Mark Wisniewski's prose is incisive and crisp, bracing and in the best sense destructive,
like a straight shot of excellent gin. Part Carson McCullers, part Truman Capote, part Elmore Leonard,
Show Up, Look Good is ultimately a highly original, entertaining, and disturbing read,
accurate but precisely off-center. Just when you think you know how it moves, it proves you wrong, and
you're delighted. Wisniewski is that crafty a craftsman, that intelligent a writer.”
—T.R. Hummer
“wonderful and absurd, yet deeply human”
—review in down & out
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“Forget My Sister Eileen. With wit and insight, Wisniewski shows what really happens when
a resourceful, optimistic, upbeat young woman from the Midwest comes to Manhattan to make it.”
—Molly Giles
“Mark Wisniewski's storytelling is absolutely kick-ass. I wanted to jump up and down.”
—Katherine Center