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Welcome to Xanadu
Uneducated farm girl is kidnapped by an escaped (but non-violent) mental patient and is forced to examine her life in a new way. She ends up sharing a mountain cabin with the strange, poetry-spouting man and comes to understand him. Benchley layers the story with flashbacks, which are curious if not especially necessary, yet his dialogue is keen and he makes these characters reachable and funny. Made into a first-rate 1975 telefilm ("Sweet Hostage"), Hollywood of course added a romantic subtext which you won't get here. Still, the even-handed way the novel plays out, and Benchley's talent with everyday talk, reaches the viewer in a warm and real way.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1968
1 person is currently reading
78 people want to read
About the author
Nathaniel Benchley
80 books25 followersBorn in Newton, Massachusetts to a literary family, he was the son of Gertrude Darling and Robert Benchley (1889-1945), the noted American writer, humorist, critic, actor, and one of the founders of the Algonquin Round Table in New York City.
Nathaniel Benchley was the highly-respected author of many children's/juvenile books that provided learning for the youthful readers with stories of various animals or through the book's historical settings. Benchley dealt with diverse locales and topics such as "Bright Candles", which recounts the experiences of a 16-year-old Danish boy during the German occupation of his country in World War II; and "Small Wolf", a story about a Native American boy who meets white men on the island of Manhattan and learns that their ideas about land are different from those of his own peoples'.
Film director/producer, Norman Jewison made Benchley's 1961 novel The Off-Islanders into a motion picture titled The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming for which he received the nomination for an Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay. He was a close friend of actor Humphrey Bogart and wrote his biography in 1975.
Benchley's novel Welcome to Xanadu was made into the 1975 motion picture Sweet Hostage.
His elder son, Peter Benchley (1940-2006), was a writer best known for writing the novel Jaws and the screenplay of the 1975 Steven Spielberg film made from it. His younger son, Nat Benchley, is a writer and actor who has portrayed his grandfather, Robert Benchley, in a one-man, semi-biographical stage show, "Benchley Despite Himself". The show was a compilation of Robert Benchley's best monologues, short films, radio rantings and pithy pieces as recalled, edited, and acted by his grandson Nat, and combined with family reminiscences and friends' perspectives."
Nathaniel Benchley died in 1981 in Boston, Massachusetts and was interred in the family plot at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Nantucket.
Nathaniel Benchley was the highly-respected author of many children's/juvenile books that provided learning for the youthful readers with stories of various animals or through the book's historical settings. Benchley dealt with diverse locales and topics such as "Bright Candles", which recounts the experiences of a 16-year-old Danish boy during the German occupation of his country in World War II; and "Small Wolf", a story about a Native American boy who meets white men on the island of Manhattan and learns that their ideas about land are different from those of his own peoples'.
Film director/producer, Norman Jewison made Benchley's 1961 novel The Off-Islanders into a motion picture titled The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming for which he received the nomination for an Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay. He was a close friend of actor Humphrey Bogart and wrote his biography in 1975.
Benchley's novel Welcome to Xanadu was made into the 1975 motion picture Sweet Hostage.
His elder son, Peter Benchley (1940-2006), was a writer best known for writing the novel Jaws and the screenplay of the 1975 Steven Spielberg film made from it. His younger son, Nat Benchley, is a writer and actor who has portrayed his grandfather, Robert Benchley, in a one-man, semi-biographical stage show, "Benchley Despite Himself". The show was a compilation of Robert Benchley's best monologues, short films, radio rantings and pithy pieces as recalled, edited, and acted by his grandson Nat, and combined with family reminiscences and friends' perspectives."
Nathaniel Benchley died in 1981 in Boston, Massachusetts and was interred in the family plot at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Nantucket.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
Currently reading
August 11, 2011Back in the 70s or so, I saw a movie called "Sweet Hostage" with Martin Sheen and Linda Blair. I *loved* it! Recently, I learned that the movie was based on a book by Nathaniel Benchley, so I searched my library system for it and am happy to be currently reading it. So far, I am very pleased. I love the character of sassy-mouthed Doris Mae Winter.
June 2, 2012
In this rare instance I actually liked the movie that was based on this book better. The book didn't seem as gripping as the movie but I love books based on the relationship that develops between hostages & their abductors.
January 8, 2017
I had first heard of the movie "Sweet Hostage" (starring Martin Sheen and Linda Blair) having read Sheen's memoir, so I watched the movie. It was great (any girl would crush on Sheen in this movie)! Then I saw that the movie was based on this book, so I checked it out from the library. I read it in a week!
The character Leonard Hatch is much more complex, although the movie version helped me to have a face to a name. Eccentric is an accurate word to describe Hatch, and I think that he is a lovable anti-hero. I think the outcome of the story for both the book and the movie is sad, but it paints a certain reality that is gripping and unavoidable, which left me asking myself what I would do if I encountered a man like Hatch (if I haven't already, but had never known it).
The character Doris Mae was cool too, and she had underestimated herself. Yet her spunk and creativity comes through and becomes important tools for her. I have read reviews from critics of the movie (at least) and they had mentioned Stockholm Syndrome, and criticized the movie for having a romantic element. However, Doris was put in a position to get to know Hatch, so how could she avoid analyzing him and coming to understand him? It makes her a strong character and an interesting balance for Hatch.
This book is for those with an acquired taste. If you are up for a good movie and a good book, then this one's a perfect fit.
The character Leonard Hatch is much more complex, although the movie version helped me to have a face to a name. Eccentric is an accurate word to describe Hatch, and I think that he is a lovable anti-hero. I think the outcome of the story for both the book and the movie is sad, but it paints a certain reality that is gripping and unavoidable, which left me asking myself what I would do if I encountered a man like Hatch (if I haven't already, but had never known it).
The character Doris Mae was cool too, and she had underestimated herself. Yet her spunk and creativity comes through and becomes important tools for her. I have read reviews from critics of the movie (at least) and they had mentioned Stockholm Syndrome, and criticized the movie for having a romantic element. However, Doris was put in a position to get to know Hatch, so how could she avoid analyzing him and coming to understand him? It makes her a strong character and an interesting balance for Hatch.
This book is for those with an acquired taste. If you are up for a good movie and a good book, then this one's a perfect fit.
March 24, 2011
I was motivated to read this book because I had seen the movie with Martin Sheen and Linda Blair on which it was based. Not badly written, but I didn't find the characters very compelling, particularly Leonard Hatch. I had a difficult time understanding how Doris Mae could find him appealing, particularly as he exhibited such odd behavior. The sequences with flashbacks were useful in suggesting how these two characters developed their quirks, and I think if there had been more of these flashbacks, I might have understood the characters more and liked the book better. Also, the ending of the book was too sudden in comparison with the pacing of the rest of the story.
January 13, 2018
I didn’t care for this book at all. Too predictable, didn’t care for the writing at all. The story was not enjoyable at all. I love this authors kids book and this is the only adult book I have read of his.
July 24, 2023
A great read, but every now and then I become a little confused with the flashbacks (Leonard Hatch especially). Ngl, I only took an interest of the book after watching 1975 television movie of the same name. Upon reading and viewing, I think like the TV version better.
Want to read
October 13, 2024Sweet Hostage (1975)
August 14, 2010
Uber romantic Stockholm Syndrome.
February 9, 2016
sort of a crappy book. But just like the Martin Sheen movie i remember from when I was a kid.
Read
August 5, 2010Great book but the end was shattering and unexpected.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews