The Writer's Life 6/16 - Obsessions

Obsession -- I bet most people have suffered it at one time. I have. One lasted at least ten years and I still wonder almost every day about that woman. Anyway, I just finished Sundown, Yellow Moon by Larry Watson, which is narrated by a writer looking back at two obsessions that continue to influence his life 40 years later. One is a murder without apparent motive, the other his first love. The former dominates most of the narrative. Many residents of Bismarck, North Dakota, 1962, have a theory as to why a former law-abiding citizen shot a state senator in cold blood. The narrator, a high-schooler at the time of the crime, best friend of the shooter’s son, writes several short stories about it over the course of his life, and always comes up short in understanding it. Since it is obvious early in the novel that the mystery will not be solved, it carries a sort of built in dissatisfaction. And there is also the sense that the romance will not endure. The tone tends toward the downbeat, in contrast to the book jacket’s image, which promises light-hearted nostalgia ala Grease. This is not necessarily bad, especially when the characters are drawn with care, fleshed-out, real. There is no fakery, the prose and dialogue are exemplary, the time and place smack of authenticity. Still, the work never takes off. Watson, who grew up in Bismarck, has written nine novels and a poetry collection, and has received several minor literary awards and grants. Only nine people have rated the book at Amazon, forging to a consensus of 3.4 of five. I say three. It's always heartening to see that serious fiction is still being written. The title is taken not from the Gordon Lightfoot song, as I'd assumed, but from a line in Bob Dylan’s If You See Her, Say Hello. Here’s the cover:

Two women are dominating the news -- well, three counting Bruce Jenner. They prove the adage that truth is stranger than fiction. Rachel Dolezal, the Spokane chapter president of the NAACP, has been pretending to be black and has reported hate crimes incidents to police. Her parents have outed her. An article in today’s NY Post reveals that decades ago she filed discrimination charges against Howard University, claiming she was passed over for a position given to a black candidate. She is merely pathetic, unlike Joyce Mitchell, who is a monster. She carried on an affair with two prison inmates, murderers, and helped them escape. She may even have plotted to murder her second husband. I hope she is sent up for life.

For the second straight day the rain held off and the floating book shop was able to get in a full session. All sales were of Russian books and DVDs. Spasibo. And thanks also to Perry Terrell of Conceit magazine, who published The Bat, a short story, in one of her offshoots, The Enchanted File Cabinet. It had been years since I'd gotten one into print, as I've concentrated almost exclusively on novels.

Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Vic's Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tinyurl.com/l84h63j

Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp

Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/

Vic's Web Site: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/