The Wilde Passions of Dorian Gray, by Mitzi Szereto

(pb; 2013: erotic/supernatural novel)


From the back cover:

"Inspired by Oscar Wilde's classic novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Mitzi Szereto continues where Wilde left off in her Faustian tale of a man with eternal youth and great physical beauty who lives a life of corruption, decadence and hedonism.  The story begins in the bordellos of Jazz-Age Paris, moving to the opium dens of Marrakesh and the alluring anonymity of South America.  Will love be Dorian's redemption or his final curse?"


Review: 

Wilde is a focused burn-through-it read.  Szereto masterfully balances memorable characterization, supernatural (often horrific) elements, and a visually and exquisitely realized eroticism, bringing them together in a gripping book that actually had me rooting for Gray's underlying quest for redemption, despite his (emotionally) grotesque debaucheries and eras.  This is one of the best erotic-supernatural themed novels that I've read in a long while - and one of the few that may be worth re-reading, not only for pleasure but for pointers on how to write a character-rich, era-seamless tale that not only builds on a classic work but matches Wilde's Gray in its excellence.

Worth owning, this.

W is for Wasted by Sue Grafton

(hb; 2013: twenty-third book in the Kinsey Millhone mysteries)


From the inside flap:

"The first [corpse] was a local PI of suspect reputation.  He'd been gunned down near the beach at Santa Teresa.  It looked like a robbery gone bad.  The other was found on the beach six weeks later.  He'd been sleeping rough.  Probably homeless.  No identification.  A slip of paper with Kinsey Millhone's name and number was in his pants pocket.  The coroner asked her to come down to the morgue to see if she could ID him.

"Two seemingly unrelated deaths, one a murder, the other apparently from natural causes.

"But as Kinsey digs deeper into the mystery of the John Doe, some very strange links begin to emerge.  Before long, at least one problem is solved when Kinsey literally finds the key to the John Doe's identity.

" 'And just like that,' she says, 'the lid to Pandora's box flew open.  It would take me another day before I understood how many imps had been freed, but for the moment, I was inordinately pleased with myself.'

"In this multilayered tale, the surface seems clear-cut, but beneath them is a fault line of betrayals, misunderstandings, age-old resentments, unnerving complications, and outright murderous fraud.  And Kinsey, through no fault of her own, finds herself thoroughly compromised."


Review:

W is for Wasted is another engaging PI-suspense novel from Grafton.  She once again imbues her work with a palpable sense of anything-goes danger, and its white-knuckle climax and equally satisfying wrap-up left me impatient for the next Kinsey novel.

That said, I can see why readers who prefer Grafton's leaner, earlier writing might be put out by the last few books in the Kinsey series - yes, they're more chatty at times; yes, they cut between multiple POVs* (in W it's limited to two). These flaws - minor (for me) - didn't prevent me from enjoying W.

If you fall into the "Kinsey's gone to crap" camp, don't bother reading W or anything Grafton writes in the future. Move on, find other authors who make you happy - life, especially in this age of don't-think-just-immediately-respond technology, is negative enough without seeking/creating more unnecessary unpleasantness. . . Or, if you feel you must (try to) read W, check it out from the library. Then that way, you won't have directly spent money on it.

Followed by X.


[*points of view]

Child of God, by Cormac McCarthy

(pb; 1973: novella)


From the back cover:

". . . Falsely accused of rape, Lester Ballard - a violent, dispossessed man who haunts the hill country of East Tennessee - is released from jail and allowed to roam at will, preying on the population with his strange lusts. . ."


Review:

This stark, grim account of a cunning man's long-term depravity - which includes rape, murder, necrophilia, theft and other crimes - gripped me from its first word to its last, even as I mentally recoiled at some of his acts, as well as his amazing-but-believable luck.  There are no wasted words in this exemplary, sometimes gut-wrenching novella.

Child of God is one of the best books I've read this year.  Worth owning, this.

#

The resulting film was released stateside on September 29, 2013.  James Franco, who played the character Jerry, directed the film.  He co-scripted the film with Vince Jolivette, who played the character Ernest .

Scott Haze played Lester Ballard.  Tim Blake Nelson played Sheriff Fate.  Jim Parrack played Deputy Cotton. 

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

(pb; 2000: Book Three of A Song of Fire and Ice)


From the back cover:

"Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the war rages, as alliances are made and broken.  Joffrey sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.  His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, victim of a sorceress who holds him in her thrall.  Young Robb still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun.  Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenarys, mistress of the only three dragons left in the world.  And as opposing forces maneuver for the final showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost limits of civilization, accompanied by a horde of mythical Others - a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable.  As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords."


Review:

All the elements, plot-twisty action and characters that made A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings great reads structure and set the tone of this second sequel.  This grim, bloody, whimsical and sometimes surprising (but always character-consistent) series continues to wow; it has made me excited to be a reader, in a way that I haven't been in a long time.

Worth owning, this - as are the first two novels.

Followed by A Feast For Crows.

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Most of the events in Storm are the basis for the third season of the first HBO/cable series, A Game of Thrones.  The series' first episode originally aired on April 17, 2011.  HBO recently aired its Season 3 finale, with a fourth Season set to air next year. 

Given the many characters in this series, I'm not going to list the characters, nor the actors who play them.  (I have a busy schedule.  Maybe later, when I have a little more time, I'll list those who have worked on the series.)

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

(pb; 1999: Book Two of A Song of Fire and Ice)


From the back cover:

"A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky.  And from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns.  Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war.  It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night.    Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy, a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress, and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside.  Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel. . . and the coldest hearts.  For when kings clash, the whole land trembles."


Review:

All the elements, plot-twisty action and characters that made A Game of Thrones a great read structure and set the tone of this first sequel.  This grim, bloody, whimsical and sometimes surprising (but always character-consistent) series continues to wow; it has made me excited to be a reader, in a way that I haven't been in a long time.


Worth owning, this - as is its source novel.

Followed by A Storm of Swords.

#

The events in Clash are the basis for the second season of the first HBO/cable series, A Game of Thrones.  The series's first episode originally aired on April 17, 2011.  HBO recently aired its Season 3 finale, with a fourth Season set to air next year. 

Given the many characters in this series, I'm not going to list the characters, nor the actors who play them.  (I have a busy schedule.  Maybe later, when I have a little more time, I'll list those who have worked on the series.)

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

(pb; 1996: Book One of A Song of Fire and Ice)


From the back cover:

"In a land where summers can last for decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing.  The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the North of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom's protective protective Wall.  At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to.  Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.  Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones."


Review:

I'm not fan of sword-and-sorcery fantasy novels, but this may be first book of this genre to fully immerse me in its vivid, often grim, sometimes kind and seductive world since I read J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy as a teenager.  In fact, Game - for this middle-aged reader - may even trump Tolkien's work for its better editing and brutal realism. 

I'm sure this review will add little to what others have already said, given my late entrance into Martin's created world, but to be clear: I loved and/or loathed the fully realized characters and their twisted, interwoven and intense histories; the action was raw, intriguing and unsparing; and the epic scope of Martin's world, as well as the "plots and counterplots" of its widely varied denizens absorbed this noir-minded (that is to say jaded) reader into its wild storylines.

One of my all-time favorite books - worth owning, this.

Followed by A Clash of Kings.

#

The first HBO/cable episode of A Game of Thrones aired on April 17, 2011.  This series is still going - HBO recently aired its Season 3 finale, with a fourth season set to air next year. 

Given the many characters in this series, I'm not going to list the characters, nor the actors who play them.  (I have a busy schedule.  Maybe later, when I have a little more time, I'll list those who have worked on the series.)

Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal, by Mary Roach

(hb; 2013: science/nonfiction)


From the inside flap:

"The alimentary canal is classic Mary Roach terrain: the questions explored in Gulp are as taboo, in their way, as the cadavers in Stiff and every bit as surreal as the universe of zero gravity explored in Packing for Mars.  Why is crunchy food so appealing?  Why is it hard to find words for flavors and smells?  Why doesn't the stomach digest itself?  How much can you eat before your stomach bursts?  Can constipation kill you?  Did it kill Elvis?  In Gulp we meet scientists tackle the questions no one else thinks of - or has the courage to ask.  We go on location to a pet-food taste-test lab, a fecal transplant, and into a live stomach to observe the fate of a meal.  With Roach at our side, we travel the world, meeting murderers and mad scientists, Eskimos and exorcists (who have occasionally administered holy water rectally), rabbits and terrorists - who, it turns out, for practical reasons do not conceal bombs in their digestive tracts.

"Like all of Mary Roach's books, Gulp is as much about human beings as it is about human bodies."


Review:

Fun, informative and quirky: Roach delves into the world of the human digestive tract and beyond, chronicling unexpected -- sometimes disconcerting -- results and the often unintentionally hilarious situations that come about. Roach is scientific, yet her writing is approachable for those outside the medical/scientific community. Also, her wit is chuckle-worthy.

This is a memorable and informative read - worth owning.

Gustav Gloom and the Nightmare Vault, by Adam-Troy Castro

(hb; 2013: second book in the Gustav Gloom series. Cover and interior illustrations by Kristen Margiotta)


From the back cover:

"Gustav Gloom's neighbors think he is the unhappiest little boy in the world.  But what they don't know is that the strange, dark house Gustav lives in is filled with more wonders and mysteries than could ever be explained.  But explain is exactly what Gustav needs to do when Fernie What moves in across the street.  And that's when the adventure really begins. . .

"Fernie and Gustav find themselves battling a new, shadowy foe - the shadow eater.  He is after the Nightmare Vault, which will unleash terrifying and threatening shadows into the world.  As Fernie and Gustav race to stop him, Fernie discovers more strange rooms in the Gloom mansion, learns about Gustav's mysterious past, and finds out just what happened to his missing parents."


Review:

Like Gustav Gloom and the People Taker, the first book in this series, Vault is one of the most fun, imaginative and offbeat kid's books I've read in a long while, with something for both children and adults.

One of my favorite lines in the book: "[Mr. What] was a professional safety expert and made his living teaching people how to avoid deadly accidents.  Fried chicken was, in his view, so very dangerous that he'd written an entire book, The Deadliest Cluck, about the terrible catastrophes it could cause.  According to the book, choking on a swallowed bone was not even the worst.  Chapter 7 described one case where a woman had hiccupped at the wrong time and inhaled an entire chicken leg up her right nostril, then sneezed it out and shot her husband through the heart."

Sharp-eyed fans of Tim Burton, Stephen King, Roald Dahl, Shirley Jackson, Henry Selick and the film ParaNorman may especially enjoy this shadow-themed and ultimately heartwarming (sans sappiness) treat.

Wonderful and whimsical work, this, between the dark, kid-friendly charm of Adam-Troy Castro 's story and characters, and Kristen Margiotta's perfect-for-the-book illustrations.

Followed by Gustav Gloom and the Four Terrors.

NOS4A2, by Joe Hill

(hb; 2013)


From the inside flap:

"Victoria McQueen has an uncanny knack for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions.  When she rides her bicycle over the rickety old covered bridge in the woods near her house, she always emerges in the places she needs to be.  Vic doesn't tell anyone about her unusual ability, because she knows no one will believe her.  She has trouble understanding it herself.

"Charles Talent Manx has a gift of his own.  He likes to take children for rides in his 1938 Roll-Royce Wraith with the vanity plate NOS4A2.  In the Wraith, he and his innocent guests can slip out of the everyday world and onto hidden roads that lead to an astonishing playground of amusements he calls Christmasland.  Mile by mile, the journey across the highway of Charlie's twisted imagination transforms his precious passengers, leaving them as terrifying and unstoppable as their benefactor.

"And then comes the day when Vic goes looking for trouble. . . and finds her way, inevitably, to Charlie. 

"That was a lifetime ago.  Now, the only kid ever to escape Charlie's unmitigated evil is all grown up and desperate to forget.

"But Charlie Manx hasn't stopped thinking about the exceptional Victoria McQueen.  On the road again, he won't slow down until he's taken his revenge.  He's after something very special - something Vic can never replace.

"As a life-and-death battle of wills builds - her magic pitted against his - Vic McQueen prepares to destroy Charlie once and for all. . . or die trying."


Review

Excellent, fantastical and fun horror novel that gripped this reader from the get-go, and didn't let go until the last page.  The characters and the plot are engaging, the villains are fun and Ray Bradburyesque, the pacing is flawless and NOS4A2's tone is miniseries epic in its genre-based timeline. Yes, it's a long-ish book (700 pages), but it's a fast 700 pages.

Worth owning, this - one of the best horror/rural fantasy books I've read this year.

Best Sex Writing 2013: The State of Today's Sexual Culture, edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel

(pb; 2013: sex essay/nonfiction anthology.  Foreword by Carol Queen, PhD)


Overall review:

Best Sex Writing 2013 is a choice anthology of essays centered around the current vibe of our Western culture, carnal and (sometimes) beyond it.  This is one of my favorite anthologies Bussel has edited, as well as one of my all-time favorite sexual anthologies, for its scope and (mostly) bullstuff-free take on what's going on in our world.

Only one of the essays didn't grab me because it was long-winded (Jonathan Lethem's "Live Nude Models").  Lethem's verbiage was occasionally clever, but ultimately not worthy of his essay's supposed pay-offs.

Lethem's work aside, this is an exceptional collection of works  - one worth owning.



Standout essays:

1.)  "Sex By Numbers" - Rachel Swan:  Excellent piece about polyamorous relationships.


2.)  "Very Legal: Sex and Love in Retirement" - Alex Morris:  The title says it all.  Especially good read.


3.)  "Notes From a Unicorn" - Seth Fischer:  A bisexual man details his evolution as a person and a sexual being.  Emotionally engaging, exceptional essay.


4.)  "Rest Stop Confidential" - Conner Habib:  The mindset of rest stop cruising is explored.


5.)  "When on Fire Island. . . A Polyamorous Disaster" - Nicholas Garnett:  The joys and pitfalls of polyamory play out in affecting and tragic fashion.  One of the best entries in this collection.


6.)  "Cherry Picking" - Julia Serano:  Wonderful, thoughtful piece about a transgender woman and her series of sexualized "firsts".


7.)  "Baby Talk" - Rachel Kramer Bussel:  A lover's predilection for 'age play' leads the author to consider her own predilections, carnal and otherwise.


8.)  "Dear John" - Lori Selke:  A woman parts ways with the traditional power dynamics of leather culture.


9.)  "Christian Conservatives vs. Sex: The Long War Over Reproductive Freedom" - Rob Boston:  The author outlines the history of birth control and religious/political interference; more importantly, he tells why we, as advanced cultures, must fight to defend our reproductive rights.  Excellent, a must-read entry.


10.)  "Porn Defends the Money Shot" - Dennis Romero:  Another exemplary essay.  In a shifting world, porndom finds itself having to change - or else face a tumbledown in their revenue streams.


11.)  "Lost Boys" - Kristen Hinman:  Overblown governmental budgets, social denial, corruption and other factors - some of them surprising - contribute to the misreporting and exacerbation of underage prostitution across the United States.  Illuminating call-to-action, this - and easily one of the best entries in this anthology.


Other essays:

"The Original Blonde" - Neal Gabler;  "Happy Hookers" - Melissa Gira Grant;  "Ghosts: All My Men are Dead" - Carol Queen;  "Enhancing Masochism: How to Expand Limits and Increase Desire" - Patrick Califia;  "Sex By Any Other Name" - Insiya Ansari;  "Holy F**k: The Fourth-and-Long Virgin" - Jon Pressick;  "Can a Better Vibrator Inspire an Age of Great American Sex?" - Andy Isaacson;  "Submissive: A Personal Manifesto" - Madison Young

A Bite of the Apple: A Collection of Romantic Erotica, by Robert Buckley

(hb; 2002: erotica anthology)


From the inside flap:

"If you're hungry for great erotic stories with a twist of the romantic, you'll love A Bite of the Apple.  Each of the 24 short stories in this sensual collection is a lush, romantic gem, sure to spur you on to your own sensuous adventures. . ."



Overall review:

This is one of the best erotic-romantic (or, if you prefer, romantica) anthologies I've ever read.  Buckley's works are perfused with an innate Frank Capra-esque humanity and warmth that most writers - myself included - (probably) wish they possessed, as well the talent to mix and match it with a variety of moods (in this anthology it's romantic, though I've read his edgier works, as well). 

This humane quality, as shown by this stylistically diverse collection, is especially all-too-rare in the erotica genre, where too many authors confuse the human tangle of limbs, torsos and 'wet' orifices for emotional connection, but forget about the smaller (and just as important) actions that express love that lends itself to deeper, longer-lasting connections.

I wish I had written this anthology - something I say not with envy, but with the utmost admiration.  (That's one of the highest praises I can give a book, especially one where every story 'nails it'.)

Worth owning, of course.


Standout stories:


1.)  "A Bite of the Apple":  An apple grove owner (Lainey Allen) makes key decisions about her career, and a possible lover.


2.)  "Forgive Me Father":  Witty, world-wise trio of Catholic confessions.  Still chuckling over this one.


3.)  "Eating Out at Annie's":  Flirty tale about a diner and two lusty-at-heart lovers.


4.)  "Convenience Store":  A graveyard shift minimart employee encounters some truly strange stuff in this surreal, hilarious piece.


5.)  "Chance Encounter": Passionate, sweet-humored entry about a lonely librarian (Lorna Delaney) and a mourner (Alec) at a nearby grave.


6.)  "Rules of Engagement":  The Honeymooners meets carnal hilarity in this piece, about a loud, semi-public argument between a wife (Dannie) and her husband (Matt), which goes over-the-top in a loving, bawdy way.


7.)  "Twitch":  An ambush of a blind date leads to a contentious and delightfully lively coupling.


8.)  "The Magic Lesbian":  A bar owner (Joe Canarski) fends off an aggressive buy-out offer from a business rival.  Instantly immersive, feels-like-you're-there work.


9.)  "Fortune's Fool":  This is an especially good, laugh-out-loud karmic tale about a hospitalized sports writer, a celebrity football player and fickle sports fans.


10.)  "Portrait":  A painter's portrait subject reveals more than artistic longing.


11.)  "A Fare of the Heart":  One of the best tales in this bunch.  A cabbie (James) and his fare ( a neglected wife named Ann) have an empathetic conversation about their circumstances and her marriage.


12.)  "Invisible":  Gut wrench-effective story about a couple whose marriage has hit some particular damaging rocks.


13.)  "The Night the Stars Fell":  A sexually neglected husband wrestles with the possibility of cheating on his otherwise occupied wife.  Another emotionally effective story, with some joy thrown in, as well.


Other stories:

"Making Her Late For Work"; "Crazy"; "Stuck"; "Imparting Wisdom"; "Mrs. Godiva"; "Corner Booth"; "The Battle of Twin Peaks"; "The Other Man"; " 'O' No"; "Infidelity"; "Backrub"

Covenant by John Everson

(pb; 2004, 2008: first book in The Curburide Chronicles)


From the back cover:

"To the residents of the sleepy coastal town of Terrel, the cliffs of Terrel's Peak are a deadly place, an evil place where terrible things happen.  Like a series of mysterious teen suicides over the years, all on the same date.  Or other deaths, usually reported as accidents.  Could it be a coincidence?  Or is there more to it?  Reporter Joe Kieran is determined to find the truth.

"Kieran's search will lead him deep into the town's hidden past, a past filled with secrets and horror, and to the ruins of the old lighthouse atop the tragic cliffs.  He will uncover rumors and whispered legends - including the legend of the evil entity that lives and waits in the caves below Terrel's Peak."


Review:

This novel - winner of the Bram Stoker Award - has a familiar set-up (small coastal town horror, sacrifices disguised as suicides and accidents, outsider digging through town's dark past, etc.), but Everson's taut tale-telling, emotionally complex characters and the natural panache of his writing render any criticism of the set-up's familiarity moot. 

Everson clearly knows that he's using ideas that have provided the skeletons of many other horror novels, but like most above-average writers, he's toying with these (possible) clichés in a masterful, all-thrills way.

There are no wasted words in this burn-through read of a horror tale, a tale that has an ending that could either be a chilling finish or a natural set-up for a sequel. 

Worth owning, this.

Followed by Sacrifice.

#

Additional note: Covenant could also provide the basis for an excellent cult b-movie, if the right talent made it, e.g. the film version of Jack Ketchum's Offspring (sequel to Ketchum's Off Season).

The Terror, by Dan Simmons

(pb: 2007)


From the back cover:

"The men on board The H.M.S. Terror - part of the ill-fated 1845 Franklin Expedition - are entering the second summer in the Arctic Circle without a thaw, stranded on a nightmarish landscape of ice and desolation.  Endlessly cold, they struggle to survive with poisonous rations and a dwindling coal supply.  But their real enemy is even more terrifying.  There is something out there in the frigid darkness: an unseen predator stalking their ship, a monstrous terror clawing to get in."


Review:

The Terror is an epic-sprawl tale, not only a supernatural horror work, but one of human and elemental horror and, ultimately, redemption for some.

Though this resounding novel does, on occasion, get chatty with its vivid details, it's still easily one of the best long-read novels (955 pages long) that I've encountered in a long while. 

Worth owning, this.

#

Set to air sometime in 2014, a television miniseries, based on the book, is being developed by AMC.  According to Fangoria and IMDb, David Kajganich is writing the screenplay.

(I'll update this review/movie notice when I have more time, and more information becomes available.)

Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury

(pb; 1962)


From the back cover:

"What if someone knew your secret dream, that one great wish you would give anything for?

"And what if that person suddenly made your dream come true - before you learn the price you have to pay. . .

"Something Wicked This Way Comes. . . is the story of two boys who encounter the sinister wonders of Cooger & Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show.  They will soon discover the show's awful mystery - a mystery that will change the life of every person it touches."


Review:

The melancholy, affright and exuberance of youth (as embodied by tweens Jim Nightshade and Will Halloway) and being middle-aged, as embodied by Charles Halloway, Jim's father, skeleton, theme and suffuse this fantastic, yet focused novel about a late night carnival whose hidden, twisted rot can be sniffed amidst its otherwise sweet-scent promises. . . this was one of the first novels I read as a child that made my eyes go agog with wonder at the magic of the printed word - an ongoing frisson I continue to believe in, along with Something's PG-rated, sometimes whimsical, sometimes grim core: life itself.

Worth owning, and re-reading at varied annual intervals.

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This novel has been filmed twice.

The first movie version, a UK production, was released in the UK in 1972.  It starred Ben Clennell, Mark Ashman, Tony Collins, Jenny Glennell, and others actors.  Who played what role is not listed by imdb.com.  Collin Finbow directed.

#

The second, more widely known film version was released stateside on April 29, 1983.

Jason Robards played Charles Halloway.  Jonathan Pryce played Mr. Dark.  Vidal Peterson played Will Halloway.  Shawn Carson played Jim Nightshade. 

Royal Dano played Tom Fury.  Pam Grier played Dust Witch.  Mary Grace Canfield played Miss Foley. Ellen Geer played Mrs. Halloway.  Diane Ladd played Mrs. Nightshade. 

Bruce M. Fischer played Mr. Cooger.  Scott De Roy played "Cooger as a Young Man".  Brendan Klinger played "Cooger as a Child".  Richard Davalos played Mr. Crosetti.  Jake Dengel played Mr. Tetley.  Jack Dodson played Dr. Douglas. 

An uncredited Phil Fondacaro played "Demon Clown".  Arthur Hill was the voice of the "Narrator".

Jack Clayton directed the film, from a screenplay by book author Ray Bradbury.

Pick-Up by Charles Willeford

(hb; 1955)

From the inside flap:

"Pick-Up. . . follows the pilgrimage of two lost and self-destructive lovers through the lower depths of San Francisco, from cheap bars and rooming houses to psychiatric clinics and police stations."


Review:

Despite it unremitting doomy vibe and the increasingly nihilistic decisions of its protagonists (Harry Jordan and Helen Meredith), this novella-short, sharp and waste-no-words tender read hooked me from the get-go. 

Pick-Up is an excellent, moving (without becoming bathetic), straightforward and fast-moving story that obviously isn't for everybody, but if you, as a reader, aren't afraid of noiresque turns of fate and characters who are clearly bent toward shadows, this just might be your bag.

Worth owning, this.