| San Remo Drive Revised Edition Contributor(s): Epstein, Leslie (Author) |
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ISBN: 1590510674 ISBN-13: 9781590510674 Publisher: Other Press (NY) OUR PRICE: $18.00 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: October 2006 Annotation: "One of the four best Hollywood novels ever written."--Elizabeth Frank, "The New York Times Book Review" Leslie Epstein's best-selling novel is composed of five interrelated episodes, each elaborated from a germ of childhood experience by the mature imagination of a distinguished writer of fiction. Richard Jacobi, the narrator of these reflections, invites us to revisit the crucial experiences of his youth: driving to Malibu to meet the man determined to marry his mother; on vacation in the Mohave, while his father, the famed Hollywood figure Norman Jacobi, and Lotte, his mother, must deal with the terrible consequences of Norman's testimony before the House Committee on Un-American Activities; exploring how a night in a bar and brothel in Tijuana becomes linked to the spiritual growth of his brother, Bartie; viewing a precarious initiation into sexuality that will mark forever the way an artist sees the world and does his work. The Jacobi family of the 1950s, however, is only part of this novel. A half century later, Richard has moved back to the same house on San Remo Drive where he spent his adolescence. Naturally, he seeks to re-create that past of sunshine and lemon groves and innocence, of 78 rpm records, artistic freedom, and all the "early sorrows and many joys" before his family's tragic dissolution. But perhaps the greater task for the adult Richard is simply to lead a decent life, now that he is a famous painter and head of a new family that is about to face an inescapable tragedy of its own. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Fiction | Literary - Fiction | Jewish - Fiction | Family Life - General |
| Dewey: FIC |
| Physical Information: 0.77" H x 5.92" W x 9.18" (0.90 lbs) 272 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - West Coast - Geographic Orientation - California - Locality - Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA - Cultural Region - Western U.S. - Cultural Region - Southern California |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: One of the four best Hollywood novels ever written. --Elizabeth Frank, New York Times Book Review Epstein is a master storyteller at the height of his powers. --Jonathan Kirsch, Los Angeles Times Book Review Mr. Epstein effortlessly captures the magic of a Hollywood childhood . . . San Remo Drive is a haunting and deeply affecting book. --Michiko Kakutani, New York Times Leslie Epstein's bestselling new novel is composed of five interrelated episodes, in each of which a germ of childhood experience is elaborated by the mature imagination of one of this country's most distinguished writers of fiction. Richard Jacobi, the narrator of these reflections, invites us to revisit the crucial experiences of his youth: driving to Malibu to meet the man determined to marry his mother; on vacation in the Mohave, while his father, the famed Hollywood figure Norman Jacobi and Lotte, his mother, must deal with the terrible consequences of Norman's testimony before the House Committee on Un-American Activities; exploring how a night in a bar and brothel in Tijuana becomes linked to the spiritual growth of his brother, Bartie, who is surely destined to be one of the most memorable and endearing characters in modern literature; viewing a precarious initiation into sexuality that will mark forever the way an artist sees the world and does his work. This is, then, a novel written from memory, in the same sense that the Schubert sonatas that attract Lotte to her baby grand are played from memory--that is, by heart. |