Celluloid Strangers, the debut novel by University of Akron English professor Eric Wasserman, is bathed in the atmosphere and illusions of Hollywood in the late 1940s, but that doesn’t make it a historical novel — its themes of loyalty and civil justice are completely up to the minute.
The story is of the four Gandelman brothers: Joe, twins Morris and Benny, and Simon. Born in the Boston area, they all have moved to California, where Morris is a lawyer who has changed his name to Adams, because he thinks it will give him better political prospects than his Jewish name. Benny is an enforcer for a union boss who runs the film trades and wants Morris to leave his new job on the crime commission to work for the boss. Eldest brother Joe is a background figure, running a store with the brothers’ widowed father.
The main character is Simon, a screenwriter at Sunrise Pictures, where he’s a good company man during the day, but goes home and works on his own project at night, one that’s encouraged by his card-carrying friends. The House Un-American Activities Committee would like to learn more about Simon and his project, and Wasserman’s fictional transcripts of HUAC interrogations are chilling.
The four brothers, each in his way, represent some facet of Hollywood: censorship, drugs, the future decline of the studio system, all crossed with violence and suspicion. The characters are convincing, and the unfortunate Benny is especially complex.
Celluloid Strangers (386 pages, softcover) costs $19.95 from Second Wind Publishing. Wasserman will read from and sign his book at 7 p.m. Thursday at Barnes & Noble, 28801 Chagrin Blvd., Woodmere, joined by Josh Rolnick, author of the story collection Pulp and Paper.
Children’s book roundup
Stuck, by Uniontown counselor Rhonda Martin, addresses the issue of obsessive-compulsive disorder in children by introducing Cinnamon, a 7-year-old girl who explains that sometimes she gets “stuck” in certain behaviors — washing her hands, counting, repeating questions. The goal is to help children understand the disorder. The colorful illustrations of the doll-like Cinnamon are by Denis Proulx. Stuck (38 pages, hardcover) costs $15.77 from online retailers.
North Canton resident Lindsay Bonilla has two new Christmas-themed books. O Christmas Tree tells of the Marshall family, who overdoes it every year with eggnog, caroling and tinsel, but this year the tree decides to teach them a lesson: It begins speaking, reminding them why they are celebrating Christmas in the first place. The illustrations are by Jack Foster.
In ’Twas the Year Christ Left Christmas, the spirit of the holiday is gone, and Jesus has been dismissed. The rhyming couplets include “And pretty soon Christmas wasn’t Christmas at all — It was just an excuse to go to the mall.” The art is by Alexander Morris. Each softcover book is 20 pages and can be ordered through http://www.lindsaybonilla.com; O Christmas Tree is $9.95; ’Twas the Year is $10.95.
Gemini Cricket by Barbara Crotts of Cuyahoga Falls is the first-person account of a cricket who — wearing a tiny spacesuit — goes along on the Friendship 7 with John Glenn. The cricket describes the tests the astronauts undergo and the launch procedure, through orbit and re-entry. The illustrations are by Emil Khory. Gemini Cricket (56 pages, softcover) costs $10.03 from online retailers.
Sonia Clark Foster, an alumna of Norton High School, wrote Polka-Dot Girl with her 6-year-old daughter, Christa Simone Foster; the book is about a girl, also named Christa, whose classmate calls her “Polka-Dot Girl” because of her freckles. Christa is hurt and angry until she learns that the boy hadn’t been making fun of her after all, but had been trying to make friends. Instructions are included for a free audio download. Polka-Dot Girl (24 pages, softcover), illustrated by Jason Hutton, costs $8.99 through the author’s Web site, http://www.soniaclarkfoster.com.
Events
Learned Owl Book Shop (204 N. Main St., Hudson) — Children’s author Dandi Daley Mackall signs Listen to the Silent Night as part of Hudson’s Holiday Walk, 2 p.m. today; Ian Adams signs A Photographer’s Guide to Ohio, 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday.
Hudson Library & Historical Society (96 Library St.) — Hiram College alumna Mae Pelster launches her local history book Abolitionists, Copperheads and Colonizers in Hudson & the Western Reserve, 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Mustill Store (Cascade Locks Park, 248 Ferndale St., Akron) — The Holiday Open House includes book signings by local authors Rick Armon (Ohio Breweries), Jeff Iula (How I Saw It: My Photographic Memory of the Soap Box Derby), Jeri Holland (Haunted Akron), Sarah Vradenberg (Steps in Time: Ninety Years of Metro Parks, Serving Summit County), Kymberli Hagelberg (Wicked Akron: Tales of Rumrunners, Mobsters and other Rubber City Rogues) and Jane Ann Turzillo (Wicked Women of Northeast Ohio), 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
Buehler’s (3626 Medina Road, Medina) — Jean R. Linderman, former public relations coordinator for Hospice of Medina County, signs Sacred Stories: What Hospice Workers Know That Can Change Your Life, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
West Point Market (1711 W. Market St., Akron) — Lisa Abraham signs Famous Chefs & Fabulous Recipes: Lessons Learned at One of the Oldest Cooking Schools in America, 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Berean Christian Bookstore (1100 30th Street NW, Canton) — Melissa Staehli signs I Love You to the Moon, 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday.
Visible Voice Books (1023 Kenilworth Ave., Cleveland) — Oberlin College professor T.S. McMillin reads from and signs his book The Meaning of Rivers, which studies river-themed literary works, 7 to 8 p.m. Saturday.
— Barbara McIntyre
Special to the Beacon Journal
Send information about books of local interest to Lynne Sherwin, Features Department, Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309 or lsherwin@thebeaconjournal.com. Event notices should be sent at least two weeks in advance.
