How to Sell

"Martin has a poetic sensibility . . . He gives a mesmerizing appeal to the setting of an alexandrite necklace and the delicate artistry involved in shaping a diamond."—The New Yorker

"Martin's firecracker of a first novel comes as such a welcome surprise . . . What makes the novel sing is the language—the fast, lavish, industry-specific lexicon of brilliant cuts and South Seas pearls. Not to mention the addictive staccatos of Martin's rhythmic sentences and his eye for sharp, eccentric details . . . How to Sell is a heady, heartfelt, speedy read. Though the title may refer to gold and stones, what's really being sold here is originality and brio—the fundamental tools of a true storyteller."—Time Out New York

"A novel about the duplicity and shady connections that underlie the jewelry business—or at least one grubby sector of it, in Fort Worth, Texas—turns out to be just as much of a con as the games its coke-snorting salesmen play. The fun, flash, and fakery of Martin's story are all on the surface, expertly hooking the most casual browser. But underneath it's a timely capitalist satire (wide-eyed Canadian Bobby Clark's unsentimental education in the dastardly business of American consumer culture) that stealthily creeps toward heartbreak: of Bobby and his nasty brother, Jim, liars and sinners both, but all too human; of their crazed and broken father; and of the women they don't know what to do with after they've sold them a bill of goods."—Boris Kachka, New York magazine

"A gem of a debut novel . . . Martins short, direct sentences sometimes evoke Raymond Carver or Amy Hempel . . . His eye is cool and pitiless and unadorned."—The Village Voice
"A lesson in double-dealing—in business and in romance . . . This is one of those books that make you slap your forehead and marvel at the intricate lies that ensnare the unwary, even as you check to make sure your wallet and your wits are right where you left them."—O, The Oprah Magazine

"How to sellis many things: gritty, sly, funny, and devastating. But most of all, it is an honest novel about dishonesty—which, in times like these, is just the kind of book we need."—Bookforum

"A Funny, quirky takedown of the American dream. A bastard child of John Updike and Mordecai the, How to Sell grabs you by the theandtuchus and doesn't let go."—Gary Shteyngart, author of Absuridstan

"Martin's experience in the [jewelry] trade lends extraordinary, nearly exhausting specificity to each shady sale and brazen bait-and-switch, and the effect is intoxicating . . . Mystery and thriller elements periodically nudge the story, but Martin, like his characters, can't be distracted from the directive: sell, sell, sell."—Booklist