A Place in the Sun

by Lewis Warsh, Pamela Lawton (Illustrator)

Poet and novelist Warsh ( A Free Man ) braids together multiple perspectives with a surgeon's dexterity throughout six brilliantly deconstructed, high action stories. In the opener, "The Russians," Warsh's razor sharp attention to detail creates a startling sense of intimacy with the Irene is brutally raped and murdered while her friend Marina is bound to a chair. Portraits of the women as lovers in Russia emerge in tandem with the conflicted erotic relationship that develops between Marina and the detective who rescues her. Another highlight is the titular story, "A Place in the Sun," which brings iconic figures of Hollywood's golden years into stark contrast with their respective legends. Elizabeth Taylor falls in love with Monty Clift when they star together in the film of the title. Despite his drug addiction, Monty takes his profession very seriously while Liz's naïve vanity will not allow her to fathom that any man could reject her, or that Monty could be interested in others-men included. Warsh's sense of immediacy adds power to a book in which the storylines and the clean precise prose are equally riveting.
Publishers Weekly

217 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2010

Reviews

[Lynette Crespi · Rating 2 out of 5]

my memory of this book is a bit hazy. i remember being annoyed with the story of Montgomery Clift and his friendship with Elizabeth Taylor. i would have enjoyed his story if the book was presented as a biography about him. but it was not. i saw no reason for it, other than it was used a symbol to demonstrate human nature. i felt there was a comparison between the detective, the lovers and the killer and the story between a Hollywood star who struggled to come to terms with who he was. however, i didn't appreciate the structure in which it was presented.

in respects to human nature, i saw in both stories that there are times people come into our lives a catalysts for change...pawns that exist for the purpose of being used. people who we lean upon, hold our hands, conquer. for example, the lover that was killed was used to save her lover's life. the killer made a choice. and so the dead victim was sacrificed to save her lover's life. though had there been enough time, i'm sure she may have been killed as well. the killer was also used as a tool...he killed the lover, thereby allowing the survivor to free herself of a relationship. though they loved one another...what is love when death begets life? from what i recall, the killer had crap to deal with, and (i think) his mom had tried to persuade him to surrender. almost like a domino effect...one thing leading to another. the result was 2 deaths, a detective that almost seemed to be neither here nor there, well past his prime. and a survivor falsely believing that she would get solace...or that was the detective had us believe. it seemed to be a lot of smoke with mirrors.

the Hollywood story had its own smoke with mirrors that also took a tragic turn. surely the car accident was the pinnacle of clift's life...and career. he used Elizabeth as a crutch (and she used him as well), needing that friendship, that human contact. had it not been Elizabeth, it could have been someone else of the day. but his domino effect played out for years...public and in private.

so while i could be wrong about the book and its intent, i would have preferred to have read 2 different stories...going toward 2 different directions rather than a book within a book that should have had more flesh to it than skin.

[Jerrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short stories that want to be novella

Never really engage with characters. Stories try to interlock and offer more but mostly stock chapters in predictable actions. Hard to stay engaged

[Donald · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's out at last! You must, must, read it!