Whatever happened to Kathryn Stern? Among a recent batch of a donation to the floating book shop was an Advance Uncorrected Proof of Another Song About The King. Curious, I opened it and read that Elvis was part of the narrative. None of the other novels I had laying about seemed as interesting. Since Random House thought enough of it to publish, I figured it was worth a shot. If it were silly, I'd just put it aside. I was happy to find it is serious work, told from the perspective of a young woman whose mom dated E as a teenager. The main theme is the rivalry between the mother and daughter. Fortunately, it doesn't extend to the sexual realm, which would have made it sordid and common. The author deftly relates the psychology at play not only between the two but the entire family, including grandparents and aunts and uncles. It details past and present in alternating chapters The prose is exquisite, the dialogue solid. The story is told in an economical 276 pages. My only criticisms are quibbles. She uses commas more liberally than I, but their use, as I've said several times, is open to debate and has the potential to drive writers insane. The larger problem I encountered was an inability to grasp some of the thoughts. Here's a gem I understood thoroughly: "None of us knows a thing, I think. Not one thing. We aren't prepared for this life. This is all we are: people, in our dumb, cheerful sweaters, trying too hard, stumbling through." The book was published in 2000 and is the only one listed under Stern's name at Amazon. I was unable to find any information on her on the web. I hope she hasn't suffered the fate one of the characters does. It was a heck of a debut. Why hasn't there been anything else? Was she discouraged by paltry sales or tepid or harsh reviews? I checked her sales rank -- south of seven million. There is no Kindle version. The nine contributors who rated it all gave it five stars. Of course, that figure suggests only family and friends have reviewed it. On a scale of five, I rate it 3.6. Kudos, madam.
Ever hear of a film titled Under Suspicion (2000)? I hadn't until last night when I caught it on ThisTV, 111 on Cablevision in NYC. Starring Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman and Monica Bellucci, it is a remake of a French mystery, Garde a Vue (1981). Hackman is suspected of two child murders, Freeman tries to break him. What impressed me most was that it all made sense, particularly the psychological aspects, which is rare in such fare. Up until the closing moments, I thought the twist would be that there is none. Is it a great film? No, but I enjoyed watching the two heavyweights going at it. It's rated 6.5 of ten at IMDb, a tad low, I think. There is virtually no action. The emphasis is on dialogue. It was adapted from Brainwash, a novel by John Wainwright. It was directed by Stephen Hopkins, who has 25 titles of checkered results under his belt, including Lost in Space (1998) and 36 episodes of 24.
My thanks to the kind folks who bought and donated books today, and to Mother Nature, who let go only the lightest sprinkles, enabling the shop to remain open.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
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