The Writer's Life 6/18 - Slivers

The late Ira Levin had a highly successful literary career. A native New Yorker, winner of two Edgar Allan Poe awards, he began by writing for radio and TV. He wrote seven novels, nine plays, a musical, and eleven screenplay adaptations, including of his own books. His most popular work was Rosemary's Baby. Almost as popular were The Stepford Wives, which has been adapted to the big screen twice, and Deathtrap, which had a long Broadway run and was adapted to the screen in 1982. A Kiss Before Dying, his first novel, has also been adapted twice. Several days ago I finished Sliver, a thriller published in 1991. It is the story of a 39-year-old female book editor just off a failed romance, who moves into a building that has been open only a few years. It is one of those oddities seen in NYC, built on a site where two brownstones had stood, rising 21 stories, referred to in the book's title. There have been several deaths at the place and the press has dubbed it "Horror High-Rise." Was there foul play? That will be obvious to just about any reader. Although only 261 pages, the pace is at first slow, despite a slew of truncated sentences. Levin takes the reader through the minutiae of daily life. It gets interesting about halfway through when the protagonist falls for the secretive owner of the building, who has installed state of the art surveillance that allows him access to every apartment. The climax is predictable and over the top. I was as disappointed as I've been with almost every thriller I've ever read. An intriguing idea was fleshed out only minimally. Those who've rated the book at Amazon disagree. 26 readers have forged to a consensus of 4.2 on a scale of five. I've added the 1993 film adaptation to my Netflix list, despite the fact that it was blasted by critics. I'm always curious as to what filmmakers do with a literary work. Levin passed away in 2007 at 78. Here's a 15-story example of a Manhattan sliver:

Hail Brooks Koepka, who won his second straight U. S. Open. He finished plus-one. No one in the field broke par, which has happened several times in the history of the championship. Reigning Masters champion Patrick Reed made an interesting comment in a TV interview. He cited two of Saturday's pin placements as unfair and responsible for most of the carnage. Probably so, but it was the same for the entire field. The ones who had an advantage had the benefit of the luck of the draw - an early tee time before the winds kicked up.

Lack of parking near my usual book nook led me to an alternate site. I have no idea what the temperature was, but it seemed nowhere near the record that had been predicted. Standing under a tree, I enjoyed the breeze blowing along Bay Parkway. My thanks to the middle age woman who bought two Sandra Brown thrillers and Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly; and to the other who selected a book on picking winning stocks; and the other who arrived as I was packing up and purchased two huge pictorials, a book on etiquette, The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, and a philosophy primer. I had a visit from Bad News Billy, who's been under the weather. He spent two weeks in the hospital, suffering congestive heart failure he believes was incited by his years as a roofer. He will soon be fitted with a pacemaker. He is also struggling with sleep apnea. Get well, sir. Mr. Conspiracy also spent time in a hospital - eight days - and doctors could not pinpoint what was wrong with him. He had lost weight, and seemed a ghost two weeks ago. I assumed his drinking had caught up to him. He seems to be recovering, although his voice is still thin. He asked for books on diabetes and pancreas issues. Unfortunately, I don't have any right now. Billy is my age, 68. Mr. C's a few years younger. I'm reminded how lucky I am - knock wood.
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