Assessing the works of author Sidney Sheldon

Sidney Sheldon, world-famous novelist, screenwriter, playwright and director was born on Feb 11, 1917, and died on Jan 30, 2007 at the age of 89. 

Sidney Sheldon

As an author, he wrote several best sellers, such as, “Master of the Game,” “If Tomorrow Comes,” “A Stranger in the Mirror,” “Windmills of the Gods,” and many more best-selling novels. He is also an Academy-award winning writer with the movie “The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer,” and has won awards for his TV write-ups and plays.

Sheldon webs his plot expertly so that readers are left thrilled to know more. His novels allow the readers to get into the characters’ minds and understand why they acted the way they did. 

He unravels his characters like a painter, who slowly develops the ‘picture’ until it becomes evident to his readers. He knows how to touch people’s hearts through his words, and how to move them to turn the pages of the book until they have finished reading.

He can hold the readers’ attention by his simple and compelling way to develop his plot. He also has a way to surprise his readers by unexpected twists and sub-plots that leave readers glued to the book. He revealed that, for readers to keep turning the page, he should “leave the guy hanging on the edge of the cliff at the end of the chapter.”

His novels are full of suspense, drama, intrigue and beautiful endings that leave a “good feeling” behind; that in spite of all the odds, the protagonist triumphs at the end to conquer his demons and adversities. 

That is why his name stamped on a book’s cover is enough to sell the book. In 1997, he was recognized by The Guinness Book of World Records as the Most Translated Author in the World

In his autobiography entitled: “The Other Side of Me,” he told the story of how, at the age of 17, his father talked him out of committing suicide during one of his depressions, by telling him that: “Every day is a different page, Sidney, and they can be full of surprises. You'll never know what's next until you turn the page."

Sidney Sheldon listened to his father’s wise words and later on became one of the best-selling authors of all time, with millions of copies of his novels sold around the world. Even with his death, his books continue to sell, as new readers of this generation got to enjoy one of the most adventurous, uplifting and exciting writer of the century.