“This is what I learned about a story at Mammoth Studios: A
likeable and sympathetic hero, one who affords a good measure of
viewer-identification, and around whom the story revolves, is faced with the
necessity of solving a serious and urgent problem which affects his vital
interests. The hero makes an effort to solve his problem, but this only succeeds
in making matters worse. (This is me all right). The hero’s efforts all lead to
a series of increasingly harder complications. Each new complication is related
to the original problem. (This isn’t me, or is it?) Anyway, there is an
integrated series of complications which build up in intensity until a definite
point or crisis is reached. It is here that the reader cannot possibly
understand how the hero can possibly succeed. But now the hero makes one last
and heroic attempt to resolve his difficulties, and in every case it must be
his own individual efforts that solve the dilemma (s). Under no circumstances
can he accept any form of outside aid to make things easier for him.”
It’s a long quote, I know, but a great dissection of a type
of story-writing. This comes from the narrator of our story, a successful car
salesman called Richard Hudson.
The opening has Hudson watching a used Los Angeles car lot
that he intends to buy. He analyses the pros and cons of the place with
ruthless application and proceeds with his purchase for the business. It’s a
classy, beautifully written beginning that really sucked me in completely. Like
the quote above says, we have our sympathetic hero with whom we can identify.
From there, we’re transported into an analysis of the art of
story-telling in the film world. It’s a little unsettling, but it’s not long
before the thread of the narrative is resumed.
Essentially we have a tale being told in flashback. It’s a
great way of grabbing attention and sows the seeds of tension because we know we’re
heading for some kind of fall.
Hudson moves back in with his eccentric mother and family.
He spends a lot of time with his step-father, a genius of cinema who has lost
his way. As they hang around together, Hudson realises that he needs something
to fill the emptiness of his life and the creation of a film seems to be the
obvious thing for him to do. He has an amazing knowledge of cinema and his
step-father allows him an insight that many script-writers might die for.
The creation of the film and the obsession of the writer are
gripping. There are many occasions when I wanted to leap in and offer advice -
after all, I know already that things aren’t set to end well.
A huge amount of the book is absolutely brilliant.
What lets it down a little is Hudson’s determination to do
things his own way. He wants to do something that is out of the ordinary and he
can’t bear the interference of the man at the top who wants control of the
piece. His obsession turns into a kind of madness and in this madness lies his
downfall. The problem for me here is that the book also works to its own
calamity of an ending and for me Hudson had become so despicable that I didn’t
care a hoot for him anymore. He was no longer my slightly flawed hero, but had
turned himself into the villain of the piece. While I’m sure that was
deliberate, there was something about it that felt a little disappointing.
Maybe if I’d realised earlier what a toe-rag the man was (and there were plenty
of serious clues, believe me), I might have read in a different way.
Willeford certainly tells an incredible story with great
flair and skill. The voice and the whole situation are brilliantly done. Because
of that, I’m slightly disappointed in myself for not loving the entirety of the
book to pieces. This one’s definitely worth a read and I’m sure will ignite a
whole batch of questions for you as a reader.
I’d love to hear a few opinions on this. Please feel free to
share.
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