Synopses & Reviews
Leslie Epstein's new novel, set in Los Angeles in the 1950s and then, in a long final section, in 2000, depicts the Jacobis, the family of a famous film writer and director. Their story is told by Richard Jacobi, the elder son, at the summit of his career as a painter. In five extended narratives, the novel traces the trajectory of Richard's self-awareness as he comes to terms with the death of his principled father and its lasting effects on his mother, brother, and himself. At the same time, the novel meditates on the status of Jews and African-Americans in the U.S. after World War II, and beautifully evokes the landscape of Southern California in its last days before the migration to it of millions.
Richard's reflections betray no nostalgia, but record forthrightly his feelings for a region and the people close to him. We see him on his living room floor watching, on a brand new 1952 Zenith television, the broadcast of his father testifying before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, at the beach in Malibu sizing up a French poseur in pursuit of his mother and her money, and on a trip with his brother and friends to a bar and brothel in Mexico. Through his sensitive discernment, the novel's stories build until one moment crystallizes all that has come before.
In this novel, Leslie Epstein has revealed his past through the lens of his art. Like an American Proust, he shows how memory shapes the crucial events of a life.
Review
"[C]inematically vivid and deeply humanistic...[Epstein] muses eloquently on the profound impact childhood memories have on both art and life." Booklist (Starred Review)
Review
"A modest work, but not slight. With a light touch, Epstein evokes the fear and exhilaration of youth and the comforts and regrets of middle age." Kirkus Reviews
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"[A] haunting and ultimately heartbreaking account....Epstein is a master storyteller at the height of his powers, and his book is a worthy addition to the literature of Los Angeles in general and Hollywood in particular." Jonathan Kirsch, The Los Angeles Times Book Review
Review
"A master of wild, at times uproarious, plots and characters....There is something of The Winter's Tale in the way Epstein pulls it all together....[O]ne of the four best Hollywood novels ever written." Elizabeth Frank, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"Questions of race, religion, art, interpersonal relationships, and personal integrity are posed but not resolved. The characters are similarly complex and fascinating..." Library Journal
About the Author
Leslie Epstein, whose father and uncle, Philip G. and Julius J. Epstein, wrote Arsenic and Old Lace, Casablanca, and many other classics of the golden era of films, is the author of eight works of fiction, including Pandaemonium and Pinto and Sons. He lives in Brookline, Massachusetts, and has for many years directed the Creative Writing Program at Boston University.