Barry Stewart Levy's Blog, page 19
November 21, 2016
"Amos Lassen's Review"
“Here is a young man searching for his sexual identity and where he fits in the world. We are riveted by the story and with him on his quest. Levy brings us a beautifully crafted novella that pulls us in and holds us until we close the covers. Because it is a novella and by definition short, everything must be tightly rendered, making the reader ask questions as the plot progresses. There is a great deal of intrigue here as we follow the hero’s yearning to connect and find love… The prose is gloriously gorgeous and Levy writes skillfully...”
Author's Note: Amos Lassen reviews books online with Jewish as well as gay themes. He had reached out to me some time ago on Goodreads. I sent him a copy of my novella and recently discovered this lovely review.
Author's Note: Amos Lassen reviews books online with Jewish as well as gay themes. He had reached out to me some time ago on Goodreads. I sent him a copy of my novella and recently discovered this lovely review.
"BookPleasures Review"
"Very much in the tradition of literary existentialism, Mr. Levy has created a familiar but nonetheless fascinating lost soul searching for life's true meaning through the relentless pursuit of pleasure without much direction from any moral compass... The narrative is cadenced, airy, and very much on the minimalist side. No scene comes even close to wearing out its welcome... If one is looking for confirmation that heroic good looks don't guarantee happiness and if one is not turned off by the longueurs of nouvelle vague films, "European Son" will deeply satisfy." -- Gordon Osmond
Author's Note: This was my second critic's review, and I prefer it to the previous one by Kirkus. This is not only better written but is more on target, especially with the reference to an existential main character. I sent Mr. Osmond a thank you email which he greatly appreciated. In his response he remarked that if the novella were filmed and if the late Jean Seberg were alive, he could see her playing Julie. What a great casting choice! By the way, a number of readers have told me that, as the book is so visual, it could easily be made into a film. I couldn't agree more.
Author's Note: This was my second critic's review, and I prefer it to the previous one by Kirkus. This is not only better written but is more on target, especially with the reference to an existential main character. I sent Mr. Osmond a thank you email which he greatly appreciated. In his response he remarked that if the novella were filmed and if the late Jean Seberg were alive, he could see her playing Julie. What a great casting choice! By the way, a number of readers have told me that, as the book is so visual, it could easily be made into a film. I couldn't agree more.
"Kirkus Indie Review"
"Levy debuts with an elegiac novella featuring a troubled young narrator on a dangerous journey to satisfy his needs for control and sexual vengeance... The action in Nice, plaited with flashbacks and stand-alone poems, is elliptical and intense. Like Patricia Highsmith's infamous Ripley, the narrator insinuates himself into situations and relationships, becoming both an object of desire and revulsion... Levy's laconic style is often very effective in this ambitious, chilling tale of psychopathology and exploitation."
Author's Note: This was my first professional review and it's a nice one. I especially liked the use of the word "elegiac" in the first sentence and the reference to Patricia Highsmith's Tom Ripley.
Author's Note: This was my first professional review and it's a nice one. I especially liked the use of the word "elegiac" in the first sentence and the reference to Patricia Highsmith's Tom Ripley.
November 16, 2016
"European Son: an excerpt"
(from Chapter Five)
The Graysons had a heated pool, separated from the rest of the house by a pair of sliding doors leading out to the patio. As I stood in the living room, I watched through the glass a solitary, nearly nude male figure emerging from the water. Standing in the dimly lighted area, he was not at first aware of my presence. Then, sensing something, he turned, facing me. His countenance was devoid of expression, not even surprise, until gradually it revealed just the hint of a smile. He appeared confident and unself-conscious, despite standing there in his soaking wet, white briefs. I advanced towards the glass partition, my eyes never wavering from his handsome face. I pushed the door aside and walked onto the patio. He took a step towards me and extended his hand.
"I'm Jay," he said, his smile widening, drawing me in.
The Graysons had a heated pool, separated from the rest of the house by a pair of sliding doors leading out to the patio. As I stood in the living room, I watched through the glass a solitary, nearly nude male figure emerging from the water. Standing in the dimly lighted area, he was not at first aware of my presence. Then, sensing something, he turned, facing me. His countenance was devoid of expression, not even surprise, until gradually it revealed just the hint of a smile. He appeared confident and unself-conscious, despite standing there in his soaking wet, white briefs. I advanced towards the glass partition, my eyes never wavering from his handsome face. I pushed the door aside and walked onto the patio. He took a step towards me and extended his hand.
"I'm Jay," he said, his smile widening, drawing me in.
May 4, 2016
"Here, There and Everywhere"
When you're a self-published author, you're basically a one-man band, promoting your book. And so... I bought postcards and business cards from CreateSpace and created a separate card for myself as a writer. With a friend's assistance, I designed flyers and purchased print ads in the "Lambda Literary Review" and "The New York Review of Books." With legwork, phone calls and emails, I managed to get my novella into bookstores and libraries in Manhattan, Long Island, Boston and Provincetown. I entered literary contests, subscribed to "Writers Digest" and "Poets & Writers" and joined the National Writers Union. I solicited critiques from Kirkus Indie Review and BookPleasures.com, which I had reprinted in the front of my book. And I have done a number of readings in bookstores, cafes and public libraries in Manhattan and on Cape Cod. Also, as a member of the NWU, I do readings and book signings at the annual Brooklyn Book Festival. This coming Friday I will be attending the United Federation of Retired Teachers Book Fair in lower Manhattan. And the beat goes on...
May 1, 2016
"Under the Influence"
Throughout the novella there are references, influences and allusions, not all of them consciously intended on my part, pointing to films by Pasolini, Antonioni, Resnais, Polanski and Hitchcock, writings by Pinter, Poe, Kosinski, Camus, Patricia Highsmith and Ian McEwan, and songs by Patti Smith, Bob Dylan, Bronski Beat, A Flock of Seagulls and Bob Marley.
Several people had suggested that I change the title, remarking that "Eclipse" sounded too familiar. I searched Amazon and found several books either called "Eclipse" or others having the word as part of the title.
One evening I walked into Urban Outfitters, a clothing store in my neighborhood, that carried, among other items, record albums. As I browsed through the LPs, I came across one with a cover designed by Andy Warhol. It was "The Velvet Underground & Nico." The last song was "European Son." I thought to myself: "That would be a really good title for my book." I went back on Amazon. There were no other titles with that name. The next day I bought a copy of the cd and listened to it. The group's song had nothing in common with my book. So "Eclipse" became "European Son: a novella."
I had read the bestselling self-help/spiritual text "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz, a lovely, inspirational book. I was impressed not only with its messages but by its look, its interior design. I called the publisher on the west coast and asked about the book's font and its size. The person I spoke to got back to me immediately with the information.
Joan Didion's "Play It As It Lays" is one of my favorite novels, dealing as does my book, with aloneness and isolation. The interior layout of her book has wide margins and lots of empty space, conveying a kind of desolation.
By now I had finished writing my book and had signed with CreateSpace to self-publish it. I called up my creative team and told them about the font, the look of Didion's book and my wish to have single asterisks indicating the passage of time. They were very accomodating. We also worked closely on the cover's artwork, depicting a young man, facing the horizon, standing alone on the beach in Nice.
Several people had suggested that I change the title, remarking that "Eclipse" sounded too familiar. I searched Amazon and found several books either called "Eclipse" or others having the word as part of the title.
One evening I walked into Urban Outfitters, a clothing store in my neighborhood, that carried, among other items, record albums. As I browsed through the LPs, I came across one with a cover designed by Andy Warhol. It was "The Velvet Underground & Nico." The last song was "European Son." I thought to myself: "That would be a really good title for my book." I went back on Amazon. There were no other titles with that name. The next day I bought a copy of the cd and listened to it. The group's song had nothing in common with my book. So "Eclipse" became "European Son: a novella."
I had read the bestselling self-help/spiritual text "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz, a lovely, inspirational book. I was impressed not only with its messages but by its look, its interior design. I called the publisher on the west coast and asked about the book's font and its size. The person I spoke to got back to me immediately with the information.
Joan Didion's "Play It As It Lays" is one of my favorite novels, dealing as does my book, with aloneness and isolation. The interior layout of her book has wide margins and lots of empty space, conveying a kind of desolation.
By now I had finished writing my book and had signed with CreateSpace to self-publish it. I called up my creative team and told them about the font, the look of Didion's book and my wish to have single asterisks indicating the passage of time. They were very accomodating. We also worked closely on the cover's artwork, depicting a young man, facing the horizon, standing alone on the beach in Nice.
April 26, 2016
"The Premise"
"A young man travels to the South of France to escape his troubled past in this tale of obsession, revenge and redemption. On the beach in Nice he develops an erotic attachment to Robert and Nicole, an attractive French couple. This mirrors a similar relationship back home in New England between himself, his stepsister Ann and Jay, their mutual object of desire. In each situation events spin dangerously out of control, driving him to acts of violence both real and imagined."
April 25, 2016
"Navigating the Novella"
I would often sit down at my desk and have no idea what I was going to write. But characters came to me and most importantly the narrator's voice.
Nearly everyone in the book is a composite of people I've met or particular types I've come across or characters I've seen in films.
As the book is highly visual, I would often try to picture how Hitchcock would film a specific scene. I would "see" characters acting and reacting, watch them speaking or remaining silent, gesturing or sitting perfectly still.
Pinter has always influenced my style when writing dialogue: what is said, what is left unspoken, pausing, remaining silent, while creating a subtext of dramatic tension, often with an air of menace.
About half the book takes place in Nice on the French Riviera, a "safe" setting but also a warm and sensual one where the narrator, alone in a foreign land, is free to play out his fantasies.
The premise of the book remained the same, even as I added characters and wrote a more redemptive and less depressing ending than I'd originally imagined.
Nearly everyone in the book is a composite of people I've met or particular types I've come across or characters I've seen in films.
As the book is highly visual, I would often try to picture how Hitchcock would film a specific scene. I would "see" characters acting and reacting, watch them speaking or remaining silent, gesturing or sitting perfectly still.
Pinter has always influenced my style when writing dialogue: what is said, what is left unspoken, pausing, remaining silent, while creating a subtext of dramatic tension, often with an air of menace.
About half the book takes place in Nice on the French Riviera, a "safe" setting but also a warm and sensual one where the narrator, alone in a foreign land, is free to play out his fantasies.
The premise of the book remained the same, even as I added characters and wrote a more redemptive and less depressing ending than I'd originally imagined.
April 24, 2016
"Two Leaps of Faith"
Back in the late 60's or early 70's I read Jerzy Kosinski's "Steps." It is written in the first person in a succinct and direct style. The protagonist is a sojourner, mysterious, sexual, clever, manipulative and dangerous.
Kosinski's short novel, which won the National book award for fiction, stayed with me and propelled me to start writing my novella that I originally had intended to call "Eclipse." It was to be about a young man who infiltrates the lives of a French couple whom he meets on the beach in Nice and winds up committing a senseless murder.
I wrote the first chapter (about a page and a half) and a detailed outline. Then I put them aside. Every once in awhile I would reread the opening pages, which I liked, and the outline, which I didn't, and then put them away. This went on for quite a long time, until several years ago I decided to actually sit down and write the book.
Again, I liked what basically became Chapter One (with a few revisions). But I found the outline schematic and unpleasant. So I got rid of it and took a leap of faith. I decided to trust myself to write this book. And then I took a second leap of faith: to trust my characters and, in particular, my protagonist, who held some similarities to Kosinski's but who was younger and much more vulnerable.
Kosinski's short novel, which won the National book award for fiction, stayed with me and propelled me to start writing my novella that I originally had intended to call "Eclipse." It was to be about a young man who infiltrates the lives of a French couple whom he meets on the beach in Nice and winds up committing a senseless murder.
I wrote the first chapter (about a page and a half) and a detailed outline. Then I put them aside. Every once in awhile I would reread the opening pages, which I liked, and the outline, which I didn't, and then put them away. This went on for quite a long time, until several years ago I decided to actually sit down and write the book.
Again, I liked what basically became Chapter One (with a few revisions). But I found the outline schematic and unpleasant. So I got rid of it and took a leap of faith. I decided to trust myself to write this book. And then I took a second leap of faith: to trust my characters and, in particular, my protagonist, who held some similarities to Kosinski's but who was younger and much more vulnerable.
"In the Beginning..."
Well, today is as good a day as any to (finally) begin my blog. And so...
I've always loved reading. I have my mom to thank for that. I grew up reading "Classics Illustrated," Tarzan novels, Sherlock Holmes, Archie, Dick Tracy, Blackhawk, "Tales From the Crypt," "The Vault of Horror" and "Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine."
In junior high and high school the only subject I excelled in was English.
In college I majored in English and Theatre and then later on in grad. school Cinema Studies.
I remember writing mystery stories in the sixth grade. They always had endings with a twist. "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" was a big influence.
I recall writing a story in high school that had strong echoes of Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher."
I contributed poems to my high school and college magazines.
As an English teacher i read poetry and stories that I'd written.
For awhile I left teaching and worked as a Literary Artist under a grant, writing materials for non-profit organizations. I also taught acting to kids, teens and seniors, while writing a screenplay, "The Haunted," five thematically related tales of psychological horror. Unfortunately, that script and another, "A Different Drummer," which dealt with three stories of sexual identity, were never produced. So it goes...
I've always loved reading. I have my mom to thank for that. I grew up reading "Classics Illustrated," Tarzan novels, Sherlock Holmes, Archie, Dick Tracy, Blackhawk, "Tales From the Crypt," "The Vault of Horror" and "Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine."
In junior high and high school the only subject I excelled in was English.
In college I majored in English and Theatre and then later on in grad. school Cinema Studies.
I remember writing mystery stories in the sixth grade. They always had endings with a twist. "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" was a big influence.
I recall writing a story in high school that had strong echoes of Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher."
I contributed poems to my high school and college magazines.
As an English teacher i read poetry and stories that I'd written.
For awhile I left teaching and worked as a Literary Artist under a grant, writing materials for non-profit organizations. I also taught acting to kids, teens and seniors, while writing a screenplay, "The Haunted," five thematically related tales of psychological horror. Unfortunately, that script and another, "A Different Drummer," which dealt with three stories of sexual identity, were never produced. So it goes...
