It Happened One Fight

 

It Happened One Fight by Maureen Lee Lenker  384 pp.

Joan Davis and Dash Howard have made a series of movies together, but can't seem to get along.  Joan has to contend with a jealous Hollywood gossip columnist who found out something Joan herself doesn't know--Joan and Dash are married!  It seems Dash (as a joke) sent Joan the marriage license from their movie (that was performed by a real minister) and Joan's assistant sent it off to city hall not knowing what it was.  Now both Dash and Joan are off to Reno so they can get a quickie divorce while filming their latest film (written by Joan's assistant) and Joan can marry the man she's engaged to.  

With elements of old Hollywood movies (including "It Happened One Night", "It Happened One Fight" is a cute romance.  Anyone who is a Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Clark Gable, or Montgomery Clift/Rock Hudson fan will find the book thoroughly entertaining.

The First Actress: A Novel of Sarah Bernhardt

The First Actress: A Novel of Sarah Bernhardt by C. W. Gortner   432 pages

You’ve heard me say it before: One of the reasons that I love historical fiction so much is that it introduces me to people and events I don’t know much about, or have no knowledge whatsoever.  The former is the category that this historical, biographical fiction work falls into for me. 

I knew that she was an infamous late 19^th and early 20^th centuries French stage actress whose talents glowed in plays by Alexandre Dumas (the father and the son), Victor Hugo and Victorien Sardou…to name only a few.  I knew that she had been dubbed the “Divine Sarah” for acting talents and made several tours of the United States. She was hit each and every time.

This book takes place before Sarah became a sensation in America.  She was the illegitimate daughter of one of Paris’ most sought after courtesans, Julie Bernhardt. While her father did not recognize her as his daughter, he did provide for her education---a rarity in those days.  She attended a boarding school and a convent school.

Although encouraged by her mother, Sarah had no desire to follow in her mother’s footsteps. She had a long string of lovers, but she was a woman who took care of herself.  Even when she, herself, became an unwed mother and the father didn’t help, she raised her son alone, with some help from family and friends.

Sarah also took control of her career. Sometimes she made mistakes in the parts she accepted. It was amazing to watch her encounter obstacles and overcame the majority of them,

Sarah had a few surprises in her that I found quite eccentric.  She had a full-sized dead bat that she wore as a lapel pin or as an adornment for her hat.  And she was rumored to sleep in a coffin, and traveled with it. 

Told for Sarah’s point of view, this highly researched and well written novel is a must read for those who enjoy reading about strong women.  “The First Actress: A Novel of Sarah Bernhardt” receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

 

Poppa John

Poppa John by Larry Woiwode, 204 pages

Among the few people left who still call him Ned are his psychiatrist, whom he hasn't seen recently, since money became tight, and his agent, whom he hasn't heard from recently, resulting in money becoming tight.  Virtually everyone else, from the man on the street to his wife, knows him as Poppa John, the character he played for years on one of America's most popular soaps.  "Played" being the operative word - Poppa John, the character, grandfatherly dispenser of spiritual wisdom instantly recognizable to millions by his trademark wave, was killed off.  While the death of Poppa John was a ratings bonanza, it has proved to be a professional and personal disaster for the man who played him for so long and now must, somehow, remember how not to.  Most of the novel takes place over the course of a single day, a few days before Christmas, as the main character attempts to find a gift for his wife but spends most of his time stumbling between bars, tormented by ghosts of the past, present, and future.

Poppa John is a novel of internal struggle.  As such, it is not a very exciting book.  It is, however, very interesting.

Disaster Artist

The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell, 268 pages

Some years ago, legendary film critic Ken Begg opined that the only way a truly great bad movie can be produced in an era of homogenization, market studies and test audiences is as a vanity project.  The Room is certainly delightfully terrible in every aspect - from set design to music, but especially the script and acting - and every aspect was under the control of one remarkable man, writer-director-producer-star Tommy Wiseau.  But who is Tommy Wiseau?

Since no one seems better qualified to answer that question than best friend and co-star Greg Sestero, it's a bit of a disappointment that he doesn't seem to have a complete answer.  Even in private, Wiseau has been reluctant to discuss his life and deliberately mysterious.  Even the source of The Room's six million dollar budget is unclear.  Yet perhaps Sestero gives the only answer possible - Tommy Wiseau is The Room, and The Room is Tommy Wiseau.

Well-written and consistently entertaining, The Disaster Artist is not only a good description of a slow-motion catastrophe, but also an interesting portrait of struggling actors in LA.

Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography

Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris, as shredded and pasted back together by David Javerbaum, 294 pages

Written in the classic YA style of choose-your-own-adventure books, this quirky autobiography offers insight into the various elements of NPH's life, from his work as a child actor (hello, Doogie!) to his career on Broadway (hello, Hedwig!), from his lifelong hobby as an amateur magician to understanding himself as a gay man. And don't forget about all those fun bits concerning Harold and Kumar, and Dr. Horrible, and How I Met Your Mother, and hosting every awards show imaginable.

The book, as is the tradition in choose-your-own-adventure books, is written in second person, with you, the reader, playing the role of the main character (in this case, Neil Patrick Harris) and making choices throughout (for example, to explore your career in made-for-TV movies, turn to page 49; if you'd rather return to the stage, go to page 137). And like any good choose-your-own-adventure book, there are options where you end up dead, or in traction for the rest of your life, or working at the Schlotzsky's counter and living a life of obscurity.

This book was both incredibly fun and incredibly frustrating. On the one hand, it was hilarious, unexpected (who knew you could end up at a crossword puzzle or a cocktail recipe?), and, considering all of the diverse elements of NPH's life, a decent format for his memoir, especially if you only really care about his TV career or his personal life. But if, like me, you want to know about ALL those elements, prepare to read this through a good five or six times. I'll admit that it got to the point, after several read-throughs, where I was simply skimming through, looking for anecdotes I hadn't read yet. I'm also really curious how this translates into an audiobook, which does exist. If you listen to it, please let me know!

Good for fans of Neil Patrick Harris, books with goofy structure, and those who love a good laugh. Not for those who want something straightforward and straight-laced.

Station Eleven

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
333 Pages



The book opens as Arthur,  the main actor in a King Lear production collapses and dies on stage of a heart attack.  While this is happening the beginnings of a major epidemic are stirring in the city of Toronto, an epidemic that will kill the majority of the population. 

Yet this is not a disaster story in a dyfunctional future.  In fact the epidemic is only a minor part of the story. Instead the book is structured to bridge the past and the future by telling the stories of people who interacted with Arthur before he died and who continue to be affected by having known him.