J.B. Priestley's novel came out in the 1930s, long before the "15 minutes of fame" quip. Here, an ordinary worker is turned into a hero for something he didn't entirely do. Earnest, a little plodding, but pleasant.
Thursday, October 25, 2018
It's a Battlefield
Graham Greene's early novel concerns a Communist bus driver who struck and killed a policeman during a demonstration and who is scheduled to be hanged. Something about the style of this one rubbed me the wrong way: congested and unnatural and showoffy are adjectives that come to mind.
Double-Barrel
Nicolas Freeling's inspector Van der Valk heads out to the boonies to investigate a poisoned-pen campaign that has resulted in suicides. The story provides an excellent picture of small-town life, its jealousies and pettiness. The solution to one of the two "barrels" of the title was evident to me long before the end; the other proved more surprising.
All in All
Stacy Keach's memoir is a companionable blend of personal history, acting practicalities, and enjoyable anecdote. It was a little saddening to learn that one of my favorite of his films, Fat City, had scenes cut by the studio on the grounds that they were too depressing; scenes which as Keach describes would have made a very good movie even better. He is also candid and informative on the subject of his drug arrest.
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
The Dying Animal
Entertaining and frank, this Philip Roth novel (like many others) places sexuality at the center of the human experience. Think you can escape it? Rise above it? You are deluded, he is saying.
Long Day's Journey Into Night
It is difficult for me to imagine anyone but Ralph Richardson speaking when reading the lines of James Tyrone, but the other three characters take on lives of their own apart from Sidney Lumet's filmed version. A tough play, one that reveals its secrets like a slow drip that eventually erodes everything.
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