A Good Review
5.0 out of 5 stars The ultimate guilt-free escapist adventure, October 4, 2013
By
Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Slipping on Stardust (Kindle Edition)
For those familiar only with the radio broadcasts, plays, lectures and dissection of English Language abuse from the mind of Gordon Osmond, this debut novel will surprise and satisfy. Though it is established that Osmond writes well (his plays have been viewed across the country, his enormously popular book "So You Think You Know English--A Guide to English for Those Who Think They Don't Need One" has both instructed and titillated readers, and his `Wet Firecrackers' - his `unauthorized autobiography' - has a special place of honor in certain niches), none of that will prepare the reader for the skill he displays in this dark romantic suspense comedy. He writes with turns of phrase, witticisms, insights and polemics that are equal to the best of today's writers.
To be succinct, SLIPPING ON STARDUST is a contemporary, American, ultimate guilt-free escapist adventure story about how the arrival of a faded movie star shakes up a small town, hurling its inhabitants to New York City and Hollywood in a trail of seduction, scandal, kidnapping with suicide demanded as ransom, and other crimes. Or to be a bit more extensive, the story is that of the seemingly tranquil small-town life of the Brockway family--Dan, the town's leading lawyer, Eileen, his beautiful star-struck wife, and Kyle, the couple's equally star-struck and sexually undecided son--is dramatically thrown off kilter by the arrival of Adrian Conway, a faded Hollywood "B" movie star, who has come to town to stay and star with Eileen in a regional production of a classic play. The novel follows the production of the play and its several fallouts, scandals that develop in Dan's law firm, a kidnapping demanding a suicide as ransom, and a planned assassination. When these developments come to a boil, Eileen flees to New York City and Kyle to Hollywood, where they live and learn in very different environments.
Much of the joy of reading this book is wallowing in the language of Gordon Osmond. His way with words defies description - you must read his language to appreciate the flow of the story and the manner in which Osmond puts his periscope up above the madness of the arts, often providing a mirror for reflecting on human behavior. He deals with the folly and glamour of following dreams, dealing with the law, teenage crises, and the bizarre world of community theatre, and the result is fizz from a noisily opened bottle of champagne. Grady Harp, October 13
By
Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Slipping on Stardust (Kindle Edition)
For those familiar only with the radio broadcasts, plays, lectures and dissection of English Language abuse from the mind of Gordon Osmond, this debut novel will surprise and satisfy. Though it is established that Osmond writes well (his plays have been viewed across the country, his enormously popular book "So You Think You Know English--A Guide to English for Those Who Think They Don't Need One" has both instructed and titillated readers, and his `Wet Firecrackers' - his `unauthorized autobiography' - has a special place of honor in certain niches), none of that will prepare the reader for the skill he displays in this dark romantic suspense comedy. He writes with turns of phrase, witticisms, insights and polemics that are equal to the best of today's writers.
To be succinct, SLIPPING ON STARDUST is a contemporary, American, ultimate guilt-free escapist adventure story about how the arrival of a faded movie star shakes up a small town, hurling its inhabitants to New York City and Hollywood in a trail of seduction, scandal, kidnapping with suicide demanded as ransom, and other crimes. Or to be a bit more extensive, the story is that of the seemingly tranquil small-town life of the Brockway family--Dan, the town's leading lawyer, Eileen, his beautiful star-struck wife, and Kyle, the couple's equally star-struck and sexually undecided son--is dramatically thrown off kilter by the arrival of Adrian Conway, a faded Hollywood "B" movie star, who has come to town to stay and star with Eileen in a regional production of a classic play. The novel follows the production of the play and its several fallouts, scandals that develop in Dan's law firm, a kidnapping demanding a suicide as ransom, and a planned assassination. When these developments come to a boil, Eileen flees to New York City and Kyle to Hollywood, where they live and learn in very different environments.
Much of the joy of reading this book is wallowing in the language of Gordon Osmond. His way with words defies description - you must read his language to appreciate the flow of the story and the manner in which Osmond puts his periscope up above the madness of the arts, often providing a mirror for reflecting on human behavior. He deals with the folly and glamour of following dreams, dealing with the law, teenage crises, and the bizarre world of community theatre, and the result is fizz from a noisily opened bottle of champagne. Grady Harp, October 13
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Gordon Osmond on Writing
Based on my long career as a playwright, author of fiction and non-fiction, editor, book and play critic, and lecturer on English,I am establishing this new blog for short articles and comments to ass
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