Hollywood, Jews, & Hollywood Jews

The Lawgiver
by Herman Wouk

Ninety-seven-year-old Herman Wouk (or a fictionalized version of him) is minding his own business. And his business, as you know, is writing novels. He’s finally tackling the ambitious project he’s wanted to write for decades, the story of Moses. It is a huge coincidence, therefore, when a hot Hollywood producer finagles a meeting insisting that he’s the only man for the job of writing a Moses screenplay.

Well, Mr. Wouk wants nothing to do with this. Meetings are refused until a rabbi intervenes. Ultimately, it is revealed that the epic film’s funding—through unconventional sources—rests upon Wouk’s participation. Under duress, he agrees to act as a consultant to the film, with final script approval. A screenwriter for this all-but-unwritable film must be found. Enter Margo Solovei, a young, independent film auteur who has eschewed her orthodox Jewish upbringing. And it is actually Margo who is at the novel’s heart, as she pursues this project while dealing with producers, directors, actors, Herman Wouk, and any number of people tying her to her roots.

I doubt I can express how much I loved this novel! Oh, how I laughed! It’s true that I am Jewish, and that I have worked in the film industry, so it’s possible that the tale “spoke” to me more than it might to some, but Wouk’s satire is dead on. Not just of an industry, but of human nature. I guess nearly a century of life gives a man some perspective. Also, as the Booklist reviewer astutely pointed out, there are subtle reflections of Wouk’s classic 1955 coming of age novel, Marjorie Morningstar, adding an additional layer of pleasure for fans such as myself. It’s really quite amazing the various themes and commentaries that Mr. Wouk manages to work into this slender novel. It’s playful as hell, but still whip smart.

Oh, yeah, I should mention that this is an epistolary novel, always a fun and inventive way to tell a tale. It’s comprised of letters, emails, faxes, IMs, Skypes, transcripts, voicemails, and so forth. Through the correspondence of the characters’ personal and professional lives, a web of connections is formed. And in the end, The Lawgiver is a romantic comedy. I rooted for lovers to find their way. I rooted for unsavory characters to get their comeuppance. And I rooted for Mr. Wouk, who has proved that at 97 he is as sharp as he ever was. I was moved by the novel’s epilogue, and I shall be waiting with anticipation for his next two novels.

Matt Richtel knows how to hook readers...

The Cloud
by Matt Richtel

…The openings of his novels are always grabbers. In The Cloud, protagonist Nat Idle is waiting to catch a late-night train when an enormous drunken man staggers into him. They both crash to the ground, with Nat very nearly thrown to the tracks in front of an oncoming train. A near-death experience instead becomes a nasty crack on the head, and a kind passerby rushes to assist. The drunk takes off, with a paper falling from his pocket as he exits. Nat’s ready to write the incident off, grateful to have gotten off relatively lightly—until he picks up the paper the man dropped. His name is on it. This was no accident.

That is merely the beginning of another of Idle’s investigative adventures. For a medical journalist and blogger, he does seem to become embroiled in some dark stuff. This story involves a technology designed to help kids learn to multi-task that may be causing a far more serious side effect. And yet, as intense of the plots of these novels are, at their heart they are character-driven, and none more so than this latest installment. Character absolutely drives plot, but in this case, prior knowledge of the character from his debut in Hooked or Devil’s Plaything would be helpful. Nat sustains a head injury in that opening scene. It affects him. He’s not himself, and I think that will be appreciated more by readers acquainted with the character. Nat’s funny, friendly, flawed, and fallible. He’ll go after a story like no one’s business. But in The Cloud, he’s altered. And he’s something of an unreliable narrator, which makes an already convoluted mystery that much more mysterious.

Mr. Richtel, incidentally, is also a journalist. By day, he writes about technology for the New York Times. He, in fact, won a Pulitzer Prize for doing so a few years ago. My point is, the man can write. His prose has an effortless readability, a sense of fun, and frequently rises above what one expects to find in a thriller. The novel moves swiftly, as events take place over the course of just a few virtually sleepless days. Furthermore, by the time all is revealed, the elegance and intricacy of the novel’s plot will become apparent. Oh, I had suspicions along the way. Some were right, many were wrong. But once I knew the truth, it was all so clear. The clues were salted everywhere.

Richtel didn’t learn about character development, pacing, and plot on the day job. I’m not sure where he learned the tools of his trade, because in this novel especially, he eschews literary convention while at the same time embracing certain genre tropes, for instance a beautiful and mysterious woman straight out of a detective noir. Tropes are tropes for a reason, and Richtel has his fun. But it’s where he diverges from convention, notably with this novel’s conclusion, that things get really interesting. I can’t discuss the choices made without spoilers, so I’ll simply say that Mr. Richtel wrapped up his mystery in a way that was unexpected, unconventional, sophisticated, and satisfying.

And aside from solving the mystery, Mr. Richtel has taken his protagonist into uncharted territory. The tale comes to a complete conclusion with no annoying cliff-hangers, but Nat evolves so much (and so believably) in this novel that I’m now consumed with knowing what the next chapter in his life will bring.

NOTE: For local San Francisco readers, Matt will be appearing along with novelist Sophie Littlefield at the SF in SF literary series on Saturday, February 9, 2013 at 7:00pm.  Please join me there!

What DID Susan read in 2012?

1. Rules of Civility – Amor Towles ★★★★★
2. The Night Swimmer – Matt Bondurant ★★★
3. The Odds – Stewart O’Nan ★★★★★
4. Bet Me – Jennifer Crusie ★★★
5. Stories I Only Tell My Friends – Rob Lowe ★★★★★
6. Sleeping Beauty – Elle Lothlorien ★★★★
7. Stay Awake: Stories – Dan Chaon ★★★★
8. Love and Shame and Love – Peter Orner★ ★★★★
9. The Spy Who Jumped Through the Screen – Thomas Caplan ★★
10. Hope: A Tragedy – Shalom Auslander ★★★★
11. The Borrower – ★★★
12. The Orphan Master’s Son – Adam Johnson ★★★★★
13. The Roswell Conspiracy – Boyd Morrison ★★★★★
14. Gideon’s Corpse – Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child ★★★
15. The Secret Adversary – Agatha Christie ★★★★
16. 150 Pounds – ★★★★
17. The Flame Alphabet – Ben Marcus ★★★
18. Horizon – Sophie Littlefield ★★★★★
19. Bloodland – Alan Glynn ★★★★★
20. Defending Jacob – William Landay ★★★★★
21. Starters – Lissa Price ★★★★★
22. The Secret of the Sands – ★★★
23. Back to Zero – ★★★
24. Entangled – ★★★
25. The Snow Child – Eowyn Ivey★★★★★
26. Ragnarok – A.S. Byatt ★★★
27. Beat the Reaper – Josh Bazell ★★★★★
28. Wild Thing – Josh Bazell ★★★★★
29. The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins ★★★★★
30. Catch Me – Lisa Gardner ★★★★★
31. The Eden Prophesy – Graham Brown ★★★★★
32. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close – Jonathan Safran Foer ★★★★★
33. How to Cook Like a Man – Daniel Duane ★★★★
34. The Technologists – Matthew Pearl ★★★
35. The Rook – Daniel O’Malley ★★★★★
36. The Help – Kathryn Stockett ★★★★
37. The Starboard Sea – Amber Dermot ★★★
38. The Dressmaker – Kate Alcott ★★★★
39. River Monsters: True Tales of the Ones That Didn’t Get Away – Jeremy Wade ★★★★
40. Clawback – Mike Cooper ★★★★★
41. The Salmon of Doubt – Douglas Adams ★★★★
42. The Mirage – Matt Ruff ★★★★
43. The Games – Ted Kosmatka ★★★
44. This is How – Augusten Burroughs ★★★★
45. Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins ★★★★★
46. The Good Father – Noah Hawley ★★★★★
47. The Vanishers – Heidi Julavits ★★★★
48. How to Eat a Cupcake – Meg Donohue ★★★★
49. The Lifeboat – Charlotte Rogan ★★★★
50. The Thief – Fuminori Nakamura ★★★★
51. Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins ★★★★★
52. Angelmaker – Nick Harkaway ★★★★★
53. The Professionals – Owen Laukannen ★★★★★
54. The Importance of Being Earnest – Oscar Wilde ★★★★★
55. Edge of Dark Water – Joe Lansdale ★★★★★
56. Love is Murder – ITW ★★
57. The Philanthropist’s Danse – Paul ★★★★★
58. Oath of Office – Michael Palmer ★★★★
59. The Gilly Salt Sisters – Tiffany Baker ★★★
60. Gods Without Men – Hari Kunzru ★★★★★
61. The Return of the Ancients – Greig Beck ★★
62. An Economist Gets Lunch – Tyler Cowen ★★★★★
63. The Innocent – David Baldacci ★★★★
64. Wife 22 – Melanie Gideon ★★★★★
65. The New Republic – Lionel Shriver ★★★★
66. Lunatics – Dave Barry & Alan Zweibel ★★★★
67. Don’t Turn Around – Michelle Gagnon ★★★★★
68. The Fault in Our Stars – John Greene ★★★★★
69. Sorry Please Thank You – Charles Yu ★★★★
70. Overseas – Beatriz Williams ★★★★
71. White Lies – Jeremy Bates ★★
72. Guilt By Degrees – Marcia Clark ★★★★★
73. The Age of Miracles – Karen Walker Thompson ★★★★★
74. Discretion – Alison Leotta ★★★★★
75. The Deep Zone – James Tabor ★★★★
76. The Columbus Affair – Steve Berry ★★★
77. How to Talk to a Widower – Jonathan Tropper ★★★★
78. Fool Moon – Jim Butcher ★★★★
79. In One Person – John Irving ★★★★★
80. The Chemistry of Tears – Peter Carey ★★★★★
81. The Third Gate – Lincoln Child ★★★★★
82. Canada – Richard Ford ★★★★★
83. Bloodline – James Rollins ★★★★★
84. Strindberg’s Star –Jan Wallentin ★★
85. They Eat Puppies, Don’t They? – Christopher Buckley ★★★★★
86. The 500 – Matthew Quirk ★★★★
87. Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn ★★★★★
88. The Long Earth – Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter ★★★★★
89. Don’t Ever Get Old – Daniel Friedman ★★★★★
90. ParaNorman – Elizabeth Cody Kimmel ★★★
91. The Conviction – Robert Dugoni ★★★★
92. The Maze Runner – James Dashner ★★★
93. Beautiful Ruins – Jess Walter ★★★★★
94. The Key – Simon Toyne ★★★★
95. SecondWorld – Jeremy Robinson ★★★★
96. A Bad Day for Mercy – Sophie Littlefield ★★★★★
97. Alif the Unseen – G. Willow Wilson ★★★
98. Ice Fire – David Lyons ★★★
99. Beneath the Dark Ice – Greig Beck ★★★★
100. The Dangerous Animals Club – Stephen Tobolowsky ★★★★
101. Shunning Sarah – Julie Kramer ★★★★
102. 15 Seconds – Andrew Gross ★★★★
103. Harry Lipkin, Private Eye – Barry Fantoni ★★
104. Gold – Chris Cleave ★★★
105. The Next Best Thing – Jennifer Weiner ★★★★★
106. On the Island – Tracey Garvis Graves ★★★★★
107. Some Kind of Fairy Tale – Graham Joyce ★★★★
108. The Prisoner of Heaven – Carlos Ruiz Zafon ★★★★★
109. Shadow of Night – Deborah Harkness ★
110. Medusa’s Glance and Vampire’s Kiss:The Science of Monsters – ★★★★
111. Kill Decision – Daniel Suarez ★★★
112. Spiral – Paul McEuen ★★★★★
113. Albert of Adelaide – Howard L. Anderson ★★★★★
114. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Frye – Rachel Joyce ★★★★★
115. John Saturnal’s Feast – Lawrence Norfolk ★★
116. The Fear Index – Robert Harris ★★
117. One Last Thing Before I Go – Jonathan Tropper ★★★★
118. The Pidgeon Pie Mystery – Julia Stuart ★★★
119. The Dog Stars – Peter Weller ★★★★★
120. Liar & Spy – Rebecca Stead ★★★★
121. The Last Dragonslayer – Jasper Fforde ★★★★★
122. Where’d You Go, Bernadette? – Maria Semple ★★★★★
123. The Survivor – Gregg Hurwitz ★★★★
124. Telegraph Avenue – Michael Chabon ★★★★★
125. The Passage – Justin Cronin ★★★★★
126. What in God’s Name? – Simon Rich ★★★★
127. The House at Tyneford – Natasha Solomons ★★★
128. Power Play – Joseph Finder ★★★★
129. The Cove – Ron Rash ★★★★
130. The Map of the Sky – Felix J. Palma ★★★★★
131. NW – Zadie Smith ★★★
132. Breed – Chase Novak ★★★★
133. Hanging by a Thread – Sophie Littlefield ★★★
134. How Literature Saved my Life – David Shields ★★★★
135. This is How You Lose Her – Junot Diaz ★★★★★
136. The Woman Who Died a Lot – Jasper Fforde ★★★★★
137. The Satanic Verses – Salman Rushdie ★★★★
138. Siri For Dummies – Marc Saltzman ★★★★
139. The Yellow Birds – Kevin Powers ★★★★★
140. Joseph Anton – Salman Rushdie ★★★★
141. The Twelve – Justin Cronin ★★★★★
142. Run – Blake Crouch ★★★
143. American on Purpose – Craig Ferguson ★★★★
144. The Cat Behind the Hat – Caroline M. Smith ★★★★★
145. Sailor Twain: The Mermaid on the Hudson – Mark Siegel ★★★★
146. The Blood Gospels – James Rollins & Rebecca Cantrell ★★★★★
147. The Casual Vacancy – J.K. Rowling ★★★
148. The Sign of the Four – Arthur Conan Doyle ★★★★★
149. Goldberg Variations – Susan Isaacs ★★★★
150. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore – Robin Sloan ★★★★★
151. The Middlesteins – Jami Attenberg ★★★★
152. Red Rain – R. L. Stein ★★
153. The Secret Keeper – Kate Morton ★★★★
154. Mrs. Queen Takes the Train – William Keuhn ★★★★
155. A Working Theory of Love – Scott Hutchins ★★★★
156. Back to Blood – Tom Wolfe ★★★★★
157. The Racketeer – John Grisham ★★★★
158. Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality – Jacob Tomsky ★★★★
159. Nine Stories – J.D. Salinger ★★★★★
160. The Round House – Louise Erdrich ★★★★★
161. Flight Behavior – Barbara Kingsolver ★★★★
162. Alice in Wonderland – Elle Lothlorien ★★★★
163. Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story – Christopher Moore ★★★★★
164. Peaches for Father Francis – JoAnne Harris ★★★★
165. I Saw Zombies Eating Santa Claus – S.G. Browne ★★★★
166. The Lawgiver – Herman Wouk ★★★★★
167. Sweet Tooth – Ian McEwan ★★★★★
168. Life Among Giants – Bill Roerbach ★★★★★
169. Far From the Trees – Andrew Solomon ★★★★★
170. Big Brother – Lionel Shriver ★★★★★
171. The Beginners Goodbye – Anne Tyler ★★★★
172. Battle Royale – Koushun Takami ★★★
173. Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm – Philip Pullman ★★★★★
174. Mannheim Rex – Robert Pobi ★★★
175. A Hologram for the King – Dave Eggers ★★★★★
176. Warm Bodies – Isaac Marion ★★★★★
177. Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk – Ben Fountain ★★★★★
178. Nano – Robin Cook ★★
179. Behind the Beautiful Forevers – Katherine Boo ★★★★★
180. Home – Toni Morrison ★★★★★
181. The Newlyweds – Nell Freudenberger ★★★★★
182. Arcadia – Lauren Groff ★★★★★
183. Two Graves – Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child ★★★★★
184. Dear Life: Stories – Alice Munro ★★★★★
185. Tell The Wolves I’m Home – Carol Rivka Brunt ★★★★★
186. Colin Fischer – Ashley Edward Miller & Zack Stentz ★★★★★
187. Dangerous Waters – Toni Anderson ★★
188. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – Annie Barrows & Mary Ann Shaffer ★★★★★
189. The Orchardist – Amanda Coplin ★★★★★
190. The Innocent – Taylor Stevens ★★★★
191. One Shot – Lee Child ★★★★
192. A Thousand Pardons – Jonathan Dee ★★★★
193. Divergent – Veronica Roth ★★★★★
194. Little Known Facts – Christine Sneed ★★★★
195. Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) – Jenny Lawson ★★★★
196. Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See – Juliann Garey ★★★★
197. Cover of Snow – Jenny Milchman ★★★
198. Risky Business – Nora Roberts ★★★
199. Blessed Are Those Who Thirst – Anne Holt ★★★★
200. The Death of Bees – Lisa O’Donnell ★★★★★
201. Extinction—Mark Alpert ★★★★
202. Half-Blood Blues – Esi Edugyan ★★★★


Story Collections (7)
Re-reads (11)
Young Adult (15)
Non-Fiction (17)

★ = 1
★★ = 11
★★★ = 31
★★★★ = 68
★★★★★ = 91

Top 10 Books of 2012

 

Let me take this opportunity to offer a belated "Happy New Year!" to my tens of followers. I hope that 2013 is off to a good start for all.

Yes, I have been a bad blogger again. Life has been challenging. Blogging is time-consuming. And that's all I'm going to say about that. I thank you all for sticking with me, and I'll try to do better moving forward. That's what new year's resolutions are for, right?

One of my favorite things about the end of the old year and the beginning of the new one are all the top 10 lists. I have participated by posting a top 10 lists of my favorite books each year. This year was among the very hardest to narrow down due to the sheer number of books I read in 2012. In the end, these were my choices. It is my habit and tradition to only rank my #1 book. All others are listed in the order in which they were read.

1. Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon

The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson

Gods Without Men by Hari Kunzru

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

In One Person by John Irving

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers

Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rivka Brunt

*****

I have to tell you, I have spent the past several days crafting a fantastic blog post. I wrote a paragraph or more on why each book was selected. It had live links to the books, the authors, video I shot, and lots of cover art. I saved it dozens of times along the way, and I was almost finished. It would have been posted tonight. And then it just... disappeared. And only the tinest bit of it was recoverable. I don't know why. I'm fairly sick about it. And I don't have the energy to recreate the effort. So, I'm afraid all you get this year is a list. :-(

Suffice it to say, I cannot recommend these 10 books highly enough.

In brighter news, my next post will list all 202 books I read in 2012.