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Wayfaring at Waverly in Silver Lake
The beyond-great Hollywood star returns in seven pyrotechnic tales that become—somehow—a family saga spread over seventeen years.
Wayfaring at Waverly in Silver Lake encompasses friends, relations, and some passersby—as James McCourt cocks a cast eye on the seven deadly sins. Some samples . . .
In a story evoking pride, fountainhead of the other deadly sins, Hollywood star Kaye Wayfaring, semiretired now atop the Silver Lake Hills, like Marion Davis at San Simeon, is at home during the 1984 Olympics, contemplating the translucent Norma Jean (“Nobody ever went at lines the way she did”), while over at the studio, her colleagues review the highlights of her career, culminating in her scandalous, headline-grabbing Oscar snub.
Lust is represented by Kaye, now back in business on location in Ireland, starring as the wanton Irish pirate queen, Granuaile. Kaye is sheathed in the part, waiting for the light, in County Donegal, balancing visions of sacred and profane love, during the first (and always lustful) day of principal photography.
Gluttony is personified by Kaye Wayfaring’s son, Tristan, in the throes of adolescent meltdown, telling his beloved uncle the demented tale of his cross-country bus trip, forced landing, and rescue by south-of-L.A. beach bums, as he floats in and out of consciousness.
And sin itself, as in “sinfully delicious,” is exemplified by James McCourt’s new book, Wayfaring at Waverly in Silver Lake, from beginning to end.
Wayfaring at Waverly in Silver Lake encompasses friends, relations, and some passersby—as James McCourt cocks a cast eye on the seven deadly sins. Some samples . . .
In a story evoking pride, fountainhead of the other deadly sins, Hollywood star Kaye Wayfaring, semiretired now atop the Silver Lake Hills, like Marion Davis at San Simeon, is at home during the 1984 Olympics, contemplating the translucent Norma Jean (“Nobody ever went at lines the way she did”), while over at the studio, her colleagues review the highlights of her career, culminating in her scandalous, headline-grabbing Oscar snub.
Lust is represented by Kaye, now back in business on location in Ireland, starring as the wanton Irish pirate queen, Granuaile. Kaye is sheathed in the part, waiting for the light, in County Donegal, balancing visions of sacred and profane love, during the first (and always lustful) day of principal photography.
Gluttony is personified by Kaye Wayfaring’s son, Tristan, in the throes of adolescent meltdown, telling his beloved uncle the demented tale of his cross-country bus trip, forced landing, and rescue by south-of-L.A. beach bums, as he floats in and out of consciousness.
And sin itself, as in “sinfully delicious,” is exemplified by James McCourt’s new book, Wayfaring at Waverly in Silver Lake, from beginning to end.
- GenresFiction
336 pages, Hardcover
First published June 25, 2002
About the author
James McCourt
19 books25 followersJames McCourt was born in 1941.
McCourt was raised in New York City and educated at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School and Manhattan College, when it was considered the Irish-American Harvard. McCourt briefly studied acting at the Yale School of Drama, but left with fellow student Vincent Virga in 1964 to go to London, to experience the exploding theater scene there. McCourt and Virga have been a couple ever since then. They stayed in London for two periods, from 1964 to 1967, and 1969 to 1971, resettling in New York City.
After McCourt’s story was published in the New American Review, the legendary writer and social commentator Susan Sontag helped McCourt find a publisher. In 1975, McCourt published the expanded “Mawrdew Czgowchwz” in book form. Christopher Lehmann-Haupt in The New York Times called the book “A gloriously flamboyant debut. Take it in spoonfuls and you'll find passages to fall in love with. Sooner or later, you may even find yourself reading them aloud to your friends.”
McCourt was raised in New York City and educated at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School and Manhattan College, when it was considered the Irish-American Harvard. McCourt briefly studied acting at the Yale School of Drama, but left with fellow student Vincent Virga in 1964 to go to London, to experience the exploding theater scene there. McCourt and Virga have been a couple ever since then. They stayed in London for two periods, from 1964 to 1967, and 1969 to 1971, resettling in New York City.
After McCourt’s story was published in the New American Review, the legendary writer and social commentator Susan Sontag helped McCourt find a publisher. In 1975, McCourt published the expanded “Mawrdew Czgowchwz” in book form. Christopher Lehmann-Haupt in The New York Times called the book “A gloriously flamboyant debut. Take it in spoonfuls and you'll find passages to fall in love with. Sooner or later, you may even find yourself reading them aloud to your friends.”
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 19, 2013
A lot of smartass people and their smartass banter - the perfect read for the smartass reader
December 26, 2007
I can't tell which I abhor more - people living in LA and attenmpting to write literarily about it (generalizing/ praising/ critiquing the city; making bold but stupid proclamations about it) or New Yorkers who do the same thing from a distance.
In any case, this book is of the latter variety. it smells of gay party chatter re: hollywood studios and starklets. i almost stopped reading the book entirely when I read this on p. 4: "Los Angeles is at the end of history, the very end-historical hub of those creative energies that resuscitate, refashion, redefine, and reinterpret all consumer drives."
Actually, i did stop reading that story, and just skimmed about a dozen otehr pages, and stopped.
i had picked this up b/c mccourt had a good essay in the book "into the tunnel" about gass's "tunnel." But this was awful. thank goodness i only use libraries now and didn't have to buy it to find out!
In any case, this book is of the latter variety. it smells of gay party chatter re: hollywood studios and starklets. i almost stopped reading the book entirely when I read this on p. 4: "Los Angeles is at the end of history, the very end-historical hub of those creative energies that resuscitate, refashion, redefine, and reinterpret all consumer drives."
Actually, i did stop reading that story, and just skimmed about a dozen otehr pages, and stopped.
i had picked this up b/c mccourt had a good essay in the book "into the tunnel" about gass's "tunnel." But this was awful. thank goodness i only use libraries now and didn't have to buy it to find out!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews