Synopses & Reviews
Meet Finkie Finkelstein: businessman from New Jersey, lovingly obsessed fan of Old Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra. To Finkie, Frank is the model of a man -- elegant, sophisticated, talented, with charm to spare. Finkie has modeled his life after his idol; he's seen all the movies, bought all of the records, even formed his own little Rat Pack at work. All his life decisions are made with Frank in mind. Now if only he could let Frank know how much he means to him...
Through a series of letters to his idol, Finkie's life unfolds; a life where Sinatra is center stage, while all the rest takes a backseat. In Sinatraland, Finkie's trials are numerous: a failing marriage, a strained relationship with both his daughter and his brother, an ill-fated affair with an office coworker. But as long as Frank comes out with a new record or film, there's always hope.
By turns riotous and poignant, Sinatraland lays bare the funniest and most twisted corners of the male mind and brings back to life America's most beloved bad boy. Sinatraland introduces Sam Kashner as a sparkling new voice in literary fiction.
Review
"Incorporating humor, pathos, timing and research in his narrative, Kashner does it his way, revealing in the process a sparkling literary talent." Publishers Weekly
Review
"A weirdly affecting portrait of innocence verging on monomania." Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
Sam Kashner teaches writing at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. An acclaimed biographer and poet, he is author of A Talent for Genius: The Life and Times of Oscar Levant, Hollywood Kryptonite and several books of poetry, and has written for numerous publications including GQ and Vanity Fair. He lives in Williamsburg with his wife, the writer Nancy Schoenberger. This is his first novel.
Table of Contents
CONTENTSLove and Marriage
Glad to Be Unhappy
Strangers in the Night
The Second Time Around
Everything Happens to Me