Joseph Hansen, author of A SMILE IN HIS LIFETIME. Published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, April21, 1981. Photo Roger Baker

California Crazy

The ins and outs the flash and trash the glitz and glitter of L.A.

Alan Cartnal

married life; though his wife loves him and he her, they both come to realize (she first) that his sexuality is not something he will

"outgrow". He has maintained sexual contacts while married, and

now resorts back to them. When he finally sells a story for mucho cashola (sic) he finds, of course,

that the money doesn't solve his problems or ease his loneliness. He meets a young man, finally, with whom he falls in love, makes

the mistake of trying to buy, reconciles, gets jealous of, almost kills, and eventually lives with. When this young man finally leaves the scene (by flipping out because of some brain damage caused by acid or some such drug and ending up in an institution) Whit then goes through some changes and, in the last sequence, finally decides he is worth something and maybe, with the company of Polk (his cat), the world and he can get along together despite his loneliness. The glossy overview above sounds kind of soap opera-ish, and it is, but the book is so far beyond. soap opera or those tawdry supermarket trash novels as to defy comparison. The skill with which Hansen narrates the story in his spare but visual style makes the story move along with almost a cinemagraphic pace. A few well chosen words of phrases at once describe and set the mood without detracting from the plot movement one iota, and in fact setting the overall tone of the work at a kinetic pace. Hansen's gift of succintity is one this reviewer wishes more authors had, especially when combined with the almost photographic imaging those few words evoke. The feeling when reading the novel is almost like that of reading at script to yourself you read the set and mood notes (lights are low, blue tint, smoke rolls across stage, thunder in the distance, etc.) and the dialogue to form a view in your mind of how the scene will look when staged. Hansen's writing evokes the same feeling, the writer is counting on the reader to know something about imaging. While this style may seem sparse to some, to anyone that enjoys storytelling at it's finest, Mr. Hansen's newest is highly recommended.

C

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Alan Cartnal, author of CALIFORNIA CRAZY, published by Houghton Mifflin Company on May 11, 1981 ($9.95). Photo Michael P. Maron

Crazy California

by Alan Cartnal

Hardcover, $9.95

Published by: Houghton Mifflin Co.

A

BOOK REVIEW BY G. ADAMS

lan Cartnal is to be congratulated for his recent vivisection of the Tinsel Town myth. With precise skill he has incised, clamped, retracted, and displayed the inner contortions

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