Books, Reviews, Short Stories, Authors, Publicity, a little poetry, music to complement...and other stuff including politics, about life... "Books, Cats: Life is Sweet..."
I remember fondly of the days of Video stores. It was someplace to go on, say, a Friday night. This particular night we had talked about The Last Temptation of Christ and decided, why not?
"Besides," I said, "I want to see Havey Keitel play Judas with a New Jersey accent." We laughed and took it home and it was one of the biggest surprises we ever saw. First of all, the story does not deal with the Bible, anymore than a rough draft of the story we all know.
Rather, it dealt with how it might feel to realize you might be the son of God and meant for bigger things. In an opening segment Jesus, as played by Willam Defoe, had seizure-like episodes and after one, his mother suggested it might be demonic possession and that a Devil can be cast out.
Jesus answered, "What if it's God? Can you cast out God?"
We were pretty much hooked after that. It became one concept after another and Harvey Keitel nearly stole the movie with his portrayal of Judas. Christian purists of course condemned the film which gave it a left-handed recommendation for me and I kind of knew at that point we'd sample it as time went by.
It was long, of course like all of Scorsese's films but few films ever stayed with me nearly as long as this one. If anything, it re-awakened my Christian faith and humanized Jesus as nothing in my upbringing ever had.
Superb performances by everyone and a certain energy permeated from the cast that seemed missing in other tellings. Of course, if you're a right-wing Christian nut, don't bother but if you're filled with any part of wonder about the Christian faith find The Last Temptation of Christ and watch it. To me, it's a truly great film.
~~~
In Jack Savage's latest book, The Blazer of St. Clair, the story of three boys, working at a local cinema and then watching the movies and talking about them later over something to eat, is certainly presented effectively. Now I have found that Jack is, himself, a lover of movies... and reviews them! Cool, right?! So you know what I have in mind, don't you? Jack, interested in sharing your future reviews here at Book Readers Heaven?
For, of course, many movies are based, originally, on a book! But, I'm a movie fan too, even if I don't see as many as I would like these days...
I was happy to have Jack mention that, not only, did he watch it because it was banned by "Christian purists." But, I was also happy that watching the movie "re-awakened his Christian faith." In fact, I would include that I have read a lot of Christian-oriented fiction books, some of which were based upon Biblical characters. There is not one of them that I found "subject" for consideration of banning! And which, helped me to see, just how Jesus works within each of us!
If we are not to spend time learning about Jesus, then how can we truly come to know Him. If we read only one source of anything, can we truly say that we have studied the book and can speak about it with Truth and an awareness of how the story was presented, and what it meant to us?
Many of you may remember in earlier posts that I often refer to the only point where Jesus showed anger. I found this video and realized just how well it presented how and why I feel that He was indeed right to do what He did! Note that he did not become violent...He spoke eloquently, in my opinion, about the love of money being carefully intertwined into worship, where the priest was trying to explain that money changing was necessary!
As we look, right now, at what is happening in America, I believe even more in studying the actions of Christ our Savior. After all, He made it quite clear in my opinion, that He was a new beginning... Yet, even now, most cling to the old ways... the old teachings that Jesus clearly explained were to be put aside with those words that He would share with us...
(By the way, Jack is one of my oldest online friends--at least 15 years if not more, LOL, so I am confident that Jack will not be upset of using his words to expand upon my own agenda...
November 7th is Election Day
Use Your Mind, Consider what is Happening...
The Constitution supports our right to Vote
Don't allow fear to keep you away from your rights.
Do you have eyes to see?
Perhaps Jesus is the Answer for these times?
Listen, Watch, Learn
Let us free ourselves from
Fear, Selfishness, and Pride
We must use our minds to truly understand
Common Sense, Logic, and Reasoning
Think through how and what you want to do to help things better here in America and Across the World. Each of us has a role to play, don't you think?
It all started in the 70s when a young boy at the St. Clair movie theatre got a job as usher... He was a movie fanatic and figured it made sense for him to try for a job as well. A fun part of how two other students got involved was, quite typical, Terry, who had the job first, had decided to wear a new Blazer and, immediately, the girls were talking to him, sticking around after the movie--you know the game, right? Terry now had a problem, he'd like to date a couple of the girls, but was working every night. So, he talked his two friends into taking turns for evening shows.
Now the manager knew he had a good thing with a nice-looking young man escorting his paying customers to their seats, so he agreed, as long as the other two boys would also wear a Blazer, he approved it. A tight friendship developed with Terry, Ron, and Brett and they would attend movies often and then go out and dissect the plots, remembering specific details to explore and just enjoying good friends with similar interests getting together. They even called themselves "The Fellowship of the Blazer of St. Clair" because initially they were all using the one available Blazer...
It was 1973, and the film, The Day of the Jackal, was showing in St. Paul, Minnesota... Perhaps it was the intrigue of that movie, or, perhaps, as is often the case, life decisions made by the three friends affected how they moved forward as the Fellowship was separated by school choices and career decisions... The thing is, though, these three boys, even as they grew older, considered their friendship a life-long commitment. They knew that no matter what happened, they would always be able to come back into that Fellowship of the Blazer...
It was the time for the James Bond movies to erupt onto a hungry audience loving the concept that would continue for over a decade after those first movies... Is it any wonder that each of those boys would be greatly affected by those movies, featuring a cool hero and lots of girls!
Brett, who came from a wealthy family had decided to change his name before he even entered his career, changing his name to Robert thereafter, who became a diplomat traveling overseas spending time moving from place to place as assigned and needed. Terry, also, had a need for that adventure that had captured all three, but he was to make it a career full of dangerous information dealing that kept him traveling the world. Ron, on the other hand, had been the poorest of the three and when his father had died, Ron decided to make his home with his mother for the foreseeable future... Even there, through no initiation of his own, he soon became involved in money laundering! Each man, however, would take time to come back home, finding Ron there to go out for dinner, drinks, and talk about real-life adventures as only they could...
Terry lives in a world of shadows and shadowy people. They deal in arms, services and anything that is cheaper to pay for than to risk life and limb doing by themselves. People who know these people know that they provide similar services for governments and departments within governments. To that extent it is a cooperative effort with all parties agreeing to look the other way while services are provided for others. But governments, in particular, are understandably queasy about dealing with these people directly and so they go through people like Terry, who doesn't actually provide the service but know all the people who do. Overseas, they usually use one of their agents (likely disguised as something else) to contact these shadowy go-betweens when services are necessary. Everyone knows how it works and most of the people who are in the food chain. But if one government wanted to make it appear they were dealing with one of these go-betweens and using a new one in the process, then their regular supplier might be drawn out into looking for and eliminating this unwanted squatting with their clients.
He liked coffee shops for eating out or chain restaurants and when alone, only ate in the bar. He owned and used RVs but not trailers or in trailer home complexes. For the most part, he seemed asexual but was known to have sex with both men and women. He didn’t have a pet but some accounts had him attending both dog and cat shows. Or was it auto and boat shows? Nobody really knew for sure and that’s the way Terry planned it and managed it. One thing was sure, he wasn’t afraid planting the idea that he liked crowds, which gave his pursuers the idea that perhaps he liked venues where he could watch them. So, they began watching the watchers: stadium security with video surveillance. And it was at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego where his pursuers thought they might have guessed right. A Security Supervisor called in sick one Sunday and was replaced by someone nobody in the company had ever seen, let alone worked with. Since the company was known to promote from within and never before a reasonable apprenticeship of a year or more, his presence was conspicuous: but not for long. They found him in the very narrow walkway to the video monitors next to the broadcast booth. With nothing to suggest otherwise, it was thought he might have had a heart attack. His death was a mystery for a day or so until they found the puncture wound just behind his right ear.
~~~
If you've read Savage before, you'll know that he is a wonderful storyteller who pulls readers into the lives of each character... we watch as internal thinking and decisions are made by each of those boys as they matured and needed to choose careers that would respond to their own personal goals. What we are seeing in today's world spotlights just how dangerous and violent it can be in dealing with those individuals who trade in secrets, needed materials for their own endeavors, and, ultimately, purely for the power and money that can be made...
Savage has used his experience in broadcasting, as an artist and educator to create a story that easily could be made into a movie--one which is both exciting and thrilling, but, in the end, perhaps, just too much of giving up their own lives? Still, we all love them, the action, the mystery, suspense, finding the truth, finding the bad guys--or seeing if there are any left in the world! I loved the book, If you can remember back to the early Bond movies and other new genre-piercing stories and enjoyed them... Pick up this novel and have a great flashback of who's doing what to whom and will the good guy win?!
As surely as James Bond, as 007, always did! By the way, I loved the first Bond--James Bond--Sean Connery, who became my all-time favorite, but I also loved the gadgets that were developed for this new modern-day military hero! You?
I've ben reading Jack Savage's books and admiring his artwork (check out the cover artistry) for over 20 years, so I thought to pick out an author photo to maybe reflect the time period of this particular book, The Blazer of St. Clair...
I've had a few false starts on reading this book, but then decided I wanted to have, and keep, a paperback. But when I received the following teaser, book description, I decided to begin reading as soon as possible. Watch for my review in near future...
My two cataract removal surgeries are over and I have a final visit later this month to determine what level of reading glasses I will need now. During the surgery, my prescription for eyesight was permanently placed in both eyes at the same time the cataracts were removed. However, there is nothing to do to improve the actual level of sight I now have. So I'll probably be betting glasses with another trifocal so that I can see small print, the computer, and distance... Mostly, I find that without glasses, my eyes get tired quickly...
Anyway, back to Jack's book! I love the colors and the design of this painting, by the author...
Ron Tansy’s loyalty to his two oldest friends would be tested when a bear crashed their graduation party in northern Minnesota. It was the time of Vietnam and their lives would follow different paths. Ron would guard nuclear missile silos for the Air Force in Wyoming while Terry saw action in the war and Brett disappeared into the bowls of army intelligence.
When they met again it was over something they all loved from their usher days at the St. Clair; a great movie. "The Day of the Jackal."
After the film and their reactions to it, all three seemed to have mysteriously found their sea legs. Ron was largely invested in real estate and vague about the seed money that made it possible, Brett, now Robert, seemed to be a low-level diplomat overseas, which neither of them believed, while Terry used a few years in the French Foreign Legion to find another line of work that hid from the light of day. After Terry became satisfied with Ron’s ability to work with money, he asked to deposit a large sum with Ron who only asked for Terry’s story, in return. It was close to too fantastic to believe and yet somehow dripping with irresistible intrigue. A deal was struck and as the years passed, it seemed to Ron as though the pair might never meet again. He was wrong.
~~~
An excerpt from The Blazer of St. Clair
In 1973 the film, The Day of the Jackal came to St. Paul, Minnesota. In those days the Grandview Fine Arts Theater played host to nearly all the foreign and independent films worthy of a showing, but not famous or well known enough to appear at the downtown theaters. Three friends and alumni of Holy Spirit grade school attended a showing of this film at the suggestion of Terry, who had run into Ron and who still had some contact with Brett, aka Robert, who happened to be in town visiting. These three were members of a rather exclusive fraternity of sorts during high school: The Fellowship of The Blazer of St. Clair, and the film they saw would take on a cryptic significance in all their lives that would play out over the years on an international stage that would finally bring them all together again.
They were never great friends through grade school but were classmates and had played on the playground together. Of the three, Brett Scarlett was the most popular. Even as a child, Brett left you with the impression he found it all amusing. His was an easy smile. Not insincere in any way and certainly not painted on, but well suited to his good looking face and he wore it well and often. He reminded you, Ron had said once, of a young Jimmy Stewart trying to play Louis Jordan and he only got better at it the older he got. He confessed to being a fan of Jack Paar and stayed up late watching Jack during grade school; this, even when Steve Allen tried to come back on CBS. On the playground (at least among those Sacred Heart students who enjoyed staying up late for any reason) Steve Allen with his more vaudevillian antics and odd regulars like Gypsy Boots seemed more popular. But Jack Paar was more sophisticated, and if sophisticated ever had a more avid student than Brett Scarlett, he or she would be difficult to find. He had a certain swagger to his gait but a Fred Astaire bounce in his step evened that out. He was completely at ease with his hands, either at his side or in his pockets or any variation thereof, it all looked perfectly natural. He was a confident, “hail fellow well met” sort of a youngster who was very well spoken and nice looking. Brett played all the sports but took none seriously.
Terry Lorch was the most accomplished athlete. He played in the St. Paul Catholic League, and Sacred Heart was a perennial champion. Terry began in the sixth grade and by eighth grade he was a standout in football, basketball and baseball. Terry seemed angry about something nearly all the time. He also seemed never to be without a job. Indeed no one could remember when he hadn’t delivered papers in the morning and while Terry was nice looking as well, he wore that perpetual chip on his shoulder. It wasn’t your fault of course, but he wore it like a jacket most days. If you wondered what the source of Terry’s anger was, one could only conclude that he seemed not insensitive to sensitivity but largely uncomfortable with it. To him, life was challenging and you meet the challenge head-on. He was quick to say that he had little time for sentimental bullshit. Economically, Terry parents were quite well off. Brett was always quick to point out that Terry didn’t need a paper route. No one was quite sure why Terry tolerated that. But Brett could get away with saying things to Terry no one else could.
Ronald Tansey was another matter. Perhaps the most average looking of the three he flew largely under the radar throughout grade school. He had good grades and he was very fleet afoot. Indeed, he was one of the fastest boys in the school. In spite of that however, he never went out for any of the school’s teams. He did play little league playground football and baseball and later on, one year of American Legion baseball as well. In the consciousness of his classmates Ronald might have been remembered for several things along the way but what seemed to stick in everyone’s memory was his ability to answer the unanswerable questions the nuns would ask with some regularity. For example, there was Sister Mary Francis in second grade who stood up before the class and asked, more or less rhetorically: “Who can tell me another name for tadpoles?” As she did and certain no one could, she turned almost before saying the word tadpoles to begin printing out the new name on the blackboard.
“Poliwogs,” said Ronald.
Sister Mary Francis turned around and said, “Who said that?”
Ronald held up his hand and so it went throughout grade school.
A few years later, Sister Geraldine asked, “Can anyone tell me who the first Catholic candidate for President was?”
“Al Smith,” said Ronald without hesitation.
“In the Revolutionary War, who can tell me who the man they called the Swamp Fox was?”
“Francis Marion,” came the reply and by this time, everyone knew who said it.
It happened a lot. Ronald just seemed to know things no one else did, sometimes even the nuns themselves.
“Joseph of Arimathea asked for and received our Lord’s body after His crucifixion, said Sister Francis Borgia in the seventh grade. “Joseph was a rich man and he prepared our Lord’s body for burial.”
“Sister?” asked one student. “Who was Joseph? Did he follow Jesus like the apostles?”
Seeing Ronald looking down and shaking his head she said, “Ronald? Can you tell us who Joseph of Arimathea was?”
Ronald looked up and said, “It depends on who you believe, Sister. If you go strictly according to the bible there is not much there to tell us who he was. But he is a popular figure in the beginnings of Christianity in England and France. One story has it that Joseph was a tin merchant and did business in the British Isles. That story says that Jesus was Joseph’s nephew and that he brought Jesus to England as a boy. It’s called the Glastonbury Legend.”
“How on earth do you know that Ronald?” she asked.
“My mother’s cousin lives in England and they sing a hymn there called Jerusalem. It’s based on a poem by William Blake. The words ask the question did Jesus walk upon England’s mountains’ green. No one knows if it’s true.”
I don't know about you, but I love finding bits of researched history done by authors in presenting their stories! You?!
Again, seventh grade.
But grade school and prison share a lot in common. For the most part both are strictly controlled environments with the societal pecking order usually determined during free time: in the yard in prison and at recess in school. But whether in grade school or prison, “know-it-alls” were not always popular. And so while Ronald got away with it for years until one day, one of his classmates started in on the playground.
“Hey smart-ass,” said Tim Wells. “When Floyd Patterson knocked out Johansson, was it with a left or a right?”
Brett Scarlett didn’t hear Ronald answer. It wasn’t about that anyway. Talk like that always meant the fight came next. He was never quite sure why he did it. Part of it had to do with Brett’s knowing that straight up, he could take Tim and it was just like Wells to pick on someone for being smarter than everybody else. Wells and his whole family were as dumb as wood. And while Ronald waited for the punch to land and the fight to begin, Brett walked over to Wells and as he did, he saw Terry Lorch get down on his hands and knees right behind the bully. Wells saw Brett coming and started to back up. When he did, he fell backwards over Lorch.
“Did he fall like that, Tim? Huh? Did he fall like that?” asked Brett.
Terry Lorch got up laughing.
Tim Wells knew what Brett Scarlett knew about who would win a fight between them and with Terry Lorch getting involved, this was a no-win deal for sure. But Tim had brothers and to not fight back meant they’d kick his ass and so by the time he got to his feet he knew he had to swing at somebody. But he never quite got to his feet because before he could straighten up, Ronald came at him and got him in a headlock. After that it broke up pretty quick with no real blows ever thrown or landed. In general (and that event in particular), a friendship was begun for the three of them that would last through high school and beyond.
In the end, both Terry and Brett had come to value intelligence. Not necessarily those who got good grades per se, but anyone who knew something and wasn’t afraid to share it out loud. Not long after the episode on the playground with Tim Wells, Brett invited Ron over to his house after school. The Scarlett’s home had an unattached large two-car garage with a room upstairs. It would never be confused with a carriage house in any sense, but it had a stairway and a door and two windows and while it got way too hot to play in in the summer, the rest of the time it gave Brett a place to get away to now and then, and of course the privacy to invite friends to come over and smoke cigarettes. Brett’s parents didn’t mind that he smoked and even allowed Brett to smoke in the house. But he was somewhat embarrassed about that and besides he just assumed that their permission did not extend to any of his friends and so, the room over the garage served that purpose. Brett’s collection of Playboy magazines were kept there as well and he had furnished it with a couple of overstuffed chairs and even added a small, portable TV...
The day he walked into Andre’s in Midtown, all he was hoping for was a brief respite from the heat and his followers. What’ll it be,” asked Andre, a formidable black man with a booming baritone voice.
“Yes, please, could I have a beer and a glass of vodka…a double please.” Andre smiled as he considered Igor. Another white customer who, after his eyes became adjusted to the dark, would probably realize this wasn’t his kind of place. Andre smiled and said, “Are you sure you wouldn’t be more comfortable up the street at Manny’s?”
Igor processed Andre’s question and then said, “Perhaps I could buy you and your customer a drink for any inconvenience my presence might cause?”
“Ain’t no inconvenience,” said Andre, drawing Igor’s beer. “But you could buy us a drink just to be friendly.”
“Yes, then please. I will do that,” said Igor with a slight smile.
After serving Igor, Andre served himself and Robert at the end of the bar, who was watching a baseball game on TV which had just started. They both saluted Igor as they raised their glasses and took a drink. Andre wandered back down the bar toward Igor. “Ya know, began Andre. “I’ve always wondered. When I was a young guy, I was in the army in Kansas. One day I walked into a white bar out near the base, by myself, just to see what would happen, ya know? But I had my uniform on and it was a fort town, so I guess it wasn’t a good test. Anyway, I know why I did it. Nothing happened but over the years, I’ve always wondered why a white man would walk into a bar, see that he was the only white man, because this is Midtown and people walk in here by mistake all the time, you understand, but they always always leave. Anyway, like I said, seeing that he was the only white man and decided to stay. Now, I’m Andre and this is my bar and you’re welcome here if I say you are, understand. But I was just wondering that’s all.”
“I am being followed…by white men,” said Igor. “If they come in here, I will know the nature, degree of their surveillance. If they do not, at least I can have a drink in peace.”
At that moment, two white men entered and approached the bar. “What’ll it be?” asked Andre.
“Two beers,” said the first one. “We just ran outta beer,” said Andre.
(Enjoy the music and the setting. Igor spends a lot of time at Andre's.)
~~~
Following World War II, several independence rebellions took place in the Soviet Union. Throughout the Balkans, The Red Army fought pitched battles with partisan rebels to put down these insurrections. The Soviet MGB State Security apparatus worked internally to infiltrate and destroy the rebels. Other deep cover operatives worked independently of their efforts. Rumors of atrocities on both sides of the conflict were common.
Vorkuta Camp 12 within Arctic Circle Where Volchev was Held
Colonel Vitas Marco had been warned, Volchev could be most aggravating. It didn’t help that they had so much in common. Both he and the prisoner were of non-Russian origin, skilled in languages, and trained in intelligence. Volchev’s path led him to prison and the labor camps, while Marco’s had made of him a rising star in Soviet Intelligence.
As he studied his file, so it had seemed of Volchev. That is, until Korosten. In thirty minutes, it would be over. The need for this final debriefing seemed ridiculous. It seemed more of an administrative task. Therefore, Marco assumed that somehow, he was being tested. One could fairly say that might have accounted for his ill-temper that day. But Volchev had become something of a legend in his confinement. How he now dealt with this situation would be watched. Or, perhaps, the lesson of Volchev was being taught to him. If so, it certainly was in the nature of a warning. Two things were clear--first, he would be acquainted with both Volchev and his story; and second, if his selection for this task had any further relevance, that would remain to be seen.
It was July 1975. Igor Volchev had defended a pair of Soviet officers in an illegal trial by Ukrainian partisan rebels after World War II. Many Soviet states had rebellions following the war. The rebellion in the Ukraine began before the war ended. Mainline Soviet forces were held in reserve, waiting for the treachery the Soviets anticipated from the British and Americans.
The rebellion forces were waiting for it, too. They were forming an infrastructure to support an invasion from the west. Their reward: Independence following the break-up of the Soviet States...
~~~
Even as WWII was ending, involved countries were working to readjust after all that had happened. The Soviet Union, itself, was being attacked internally as rebellion forces began to seek a permanent separation from the Union. One of those rebellions was by partisan rebels who were taking the opportunity to seek freedom from the totalitarian government... now known as Russia.
Indeed, if you are watching the daily news, you know that Ukraine had succeeded in becoming a separate entity and is now a democratic country! With Russia still trying to recapture the parts of the Soviet Union that became independent... Because of this, the president of Russia has been declared a war criminal and fighting continues, with Russia targeting women, children and moving toward more and more violence daily.
This is not a new situation, as Jack Savage begins his story based upon one single former Red Soldier, Igor Volchev, a former NKGB Colonel, who had returned to Ukraine and taken a position in the judicial district of Malin on the rail line between Kiev and Korosten.
A raid had occurred led by two Soviet Officers--a raid that took place. However, the details of what happened were to be hidden. Volchev had been told to write up what happened. He did... The Official Report - It was complete disinformation, albeit eloquent in many ways... The result: instead of being killed like others who were involved, Volchev was imprisoned in the harshest camp, Vorkuta, for life.
Time passed and men who crave power begin to look for "a story" that can be used in some way... While, at the same time, family of former military action want to learn more about their relatives and what happened to them. And so it was that a nephew, Edward, found that his uncle had been the writer of The Official Report. And the Report had been accepted as...the Truth!
Suddenly, Volchev was in the spotlight, he was sponsored by an American and brought to live in total freedom... Or so it seemed. Yet, Igor had already determined that he had followers from various agencies...
While I was reading this novel, I had a flashback to a series by James Houston Turner who had created a character called Talanov... I had such fun reading those books and loved the hero character--the link by the way is his created credentials and a short excerpt from one of the books...
I admit I had the same reaction to Volchev! While in an entirely different way. This is not an action character. Rather, he is just what exactly you would expect for having been in one prison or another for over 20 years! He's very intelligent, yet cautious, with instincts to constantly be on watch, trying to determine exactly what and why whatever was happening would involve...
He's still an attractive man even after his incarceration! In fact, he really didn't look like he had been in prison--so what happened, readers wonder. Especially, the recent widow who had sponsored Volchev's immigration to America... She watched as Volchev would daily go out for a walk--she assumed it was to acknowledge the freedom of being able to do so. He normally refused the money she offered, even though he had none. She would forced him to recognize his need to have money even to buy a cup of coffee... Yet his independence, his need to remain a loner, was fascinating to her. At that point, she didn't know that he was being followed. Nor do she know that Volchev suspected that there was a reason for his being brought to America, and it wasn't because of the appeals of his family...
Volchev was right to question exactly what was going on! Readers will learn a little more, practically on each page, but just enough to keep us reading. A little bit historical drama with lots of suspense as we gather the teasers of someone who is living through becoming among the rich and famous, while still maintaining the hesitancy, the fear, the need to be on guard, after being imprisoned for nothing more than writing exactly what he was told to write... I found myself thinking about all the lies that are coming out, even more so these days, because of our social platforms. Still, if you can build on the truth, the reality, you can begin to imagine... the why of being allowed to leave prison and travel to America...
And that's what Jack Savage has given us... Forcing us to stop, pay attention, study the background, locate the power structure and who is in control and where it might be leading... I was hooked because of the tease, the minor moves forward, only to have a complete twist come toward the end that caught me totally off guard.
And full disclosure here... I was a final unpaid proofreader and formatter of this book--not an editor. There was little to be edited since the author had covered everything so well that I became involved with the story, even reading it a second time for content and still not knowing how it would end... As you know, I love that type of book! Savage keeps our interest, and attention... but still manages to surprise us in a drama that is so very much rooted in the political environment that Russia presents to the world today!
I consider this the best of the best for the author. While the plot setting is entirely within the United States, it does reveal the real need to not under-estimate what the Russian government or its representatives is capable of doing, even if it is to just about "one" former Ukrainian Colonel who dared to tell the truth...
A unique perspective of those who are living as citizens in a totalitarian country. It is enlightening to see what happens when those who crave power are willing to move toward gaining what is wanted... It's a timely, yet an alternative drama of living within the power structure of an authoritarian, at any political level... The detail is sufficiently specific to actually feel like you are the investigator striving to solve the puzzle... A Tantalizing mystery!
Author's Note: The earlier cover selected could not be used. This cover is another of paintings by Savage...
Elder Care Tip - I've been enrolled in Walmart's online services which includes shipping, pickup or delivery. I've recently been invited to be a customer representative for this activity. I can already tell you, it has saved me a lot of heartache and worry... I have used all three options and with few problems, I have been very satisfied... If you have any suggestions or concerns, let me know and I'll try to see if my new role includes help with your issues!
I don't get too many coffee-table books to review. But this artist is also an author and I've read most of his work... So now, I get to say a little about his artistic achievements...
But... as you begin to study his artistic endeavors, you will realize that each work also tells a story. Some we may not read as well as others, but we can still appreciate all just for the joy we obtain by looking... For instance, I quickly picked out my favorite, included above. Almost immediately, it brought to mind one of my favorite hymns as well...
My impressionist work amounts to what my mind remembers and my level of talent can product. My abstract creations represents probably the essential marriage of what real talent I have and enough luck to make more astute critics believe I actually have some: talent and luck, that is... My drawings and the advent of colored pens recalls in me the joy of one of our St. Joseph Sisters saying... "put away your books and take out your crayons." ~~~
The book contains 60 of what Jack considers his best...but he has about 200 pieces and there are about 100 pieces that had been published online and as covers to his books that do not appear in Imagination. They are full-color, many displayed one on one page...or two... I have absolutely no skill regarding any form of art so, to acknowledge my ignorance, I have always said, "I know what I like..." LOL Sometimes not a satisfactory response even for me. Jack makes it even harder since he does impressionist, abstract, and what I would usually think of as still life, such as "Auntie's House" which undoubtedly was a memory from happy times with his family...
Jack has always seemed to me to be a humble man, so it was his wife that finally suggested that his art work was better than his writing... I don't necessarily agree with her, but I recognize that Jack's stories are not of today's contemporary style--more like Dean Koontz' Odd Thomas and Forever Odd. If you enjoyed those novels, you would enjoy reading Jack's books. I've included copies of the covers for his books, mostly to illustrate his art since he created the covers for each!
I've added some of my favorites but not added any of the titles so that you can later use them to better study each of the pieces in the book. Except one...the last one is titled "Swan." OK I have to admit that I smile widely each time I see this one. I've a personal collection of swan figurines and paintings and I guarantee that none of my pieces match this one in any way!*
Indeed, "Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder..."
Enjoy!
GABixlerReviews
*Paintings included in review are not necessarily those in the final book published...
W.Jack Savage is a retired broadcaster, artist and educator. He is Vietnam Veteran and graduate of The University of Minnesota, Mankato and received his Master's Degree from California State University, Los Angeles. Jack has now added Imagination: The Art of W. Jack Savage to his collection of seven books: three novels, two short story collections and the autobiographical The High Sky of Winter's Shadows. To date, forty-five of Jack's short stories have been published in various online and print magazines. This includes all of them from his two short story collections, Bumping and Other Stories and The Petorik Thesis and Tales of the Global West. He has also designed the covers of his books using his original art work. Jack's art has been featured in numerous publications as well. As of this writing, one hundred and twenty of Jack's paintings and drawings have been published. Jack and his wife Kathy live in Monrovia, California.
"I have memories that go way back about movies I saw at the theater when I was a kid. I also seem to remember that I went to these movies by myself, and was trying to figure out life, in particular the lives that adults were living, through the movies. Anyway, there was this one film in black and white, and it was kind of funny. It was also a love story and had to do with a beautiful young girl who hadn't been around for quite a while and then had returned all grown up...
but it didn't matter--I got it and I loved the ending..."
The High Sky of Winter's Shadows
By W. Jack Savage
This is the fourth book I've read by Jack Savage--Will it be his last? You know, when a writer decides to write his autobiography, that is sometimes when he is ready to put up his...pen, or computer... But I'm not placing any bets on it, even if I were a betting person, which I'm not... You see his autobiography is made up of short clips from his life--from which he's learned something, or enjoyed a moment, or maybe even was irritated by an organization! Now, tell me, does that sound like an autobiography?
But one thing is positive, I believe, you must be Jack's age, and mine, to have learned some of the things he shares... And he openly admits that he is quite different from the risk-taking man he once was... Young readers could certainly learn from this short book, but is it possible to use something in another's life to help with your own? I think so. In fact, I read many self-help books when I was young and, in many ways, this book is more self-help than autobiographic. But I did learn much about the author's opinions.
In fact, the man who wrote this latest book... He and I could be friends... He's a talker; I'm a great listener (and reader!). I tend to recognize that I choose to remember what I want and calmly forget about anything else. He wonders why he doesn't remember actually walking back and forth to grade school..."Come on Jack", I would say, having heard (or read) him say that. Then I would respond, "What difference does that make?" I figure the reason why he wrote that short skit was to get somebody to respond to him... Sooo, I'll be doing that for you Jack! LOL
Jack even wrote one for me about a subject that concerned me... As an aside, there are a number of articles about athletics, games, etc., but the one about an individual who was convicted of sexual abuse at a major higher education institution showed me that even if a fan of sports, this writer also felt there was no way to justify what happened! Thanks Jack for being willing to speak out about this sensitive topic in your book... It is always harder to review a book with multiple topics, short stories, in essence. I normally choose my most favorite topics and spotlight them, even though I realize that others will find the articles, such as on sports, of greater interest. Thing was, though, I was tagging just too many stories to comment on! For instance, Jack explained his book title in his Foreword. I appreciated that! Too many titles that come to me may mean something to the writer, but if you don't share it, the reader is wondering throughout the book--what does it mean??? Then he started talking about the Kennedy's
"There's clearly a pattern here: crime can't be seen to pay." ~~~
assassination, as sooooo many people still are doing! Was that when we started not to trust??? "Not everything needs to be questioned. But I see sequential, three-act storylines happening all the time that I could write as fiction and accurately predict the outcome. For those in my generation, after John Kennedy was assassinated, came the quick arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald. Two days later Oswalk was murdered on national television by this night club owner, Jack Ruby... Once the shock of the whole thing went away, everybody smelled a rat..." ~~~
Readers, I think, will enjoy all of the stories about his life in radio, acting, etc. admitting that, for instance, "Fast Eddie Felson" in The Hustler was one of his role models...
"I remember one of my first role models or guys I wanted to grow up to be like, was Pete Dawkins, the last Heisman Trophy winner from West Point, and a Rhodes Scholar. Not long after that, I wanted to be like pool shart Fast Eddie Felson in the movie The Hustler. I saw no real conflict between the two, because as much as I admired the accomplishments of Pete Dawkins, I'd have probably traded them for Paul Newman's looks without hesitation..."
~~~
And then there are the one-liners, or zingers, that were thrown in to end a story, like, "If you're really going somewhere, you'll need to know who is full of shit and who is not." It's interesting how some people can throw out a lot of knowledge in such a finale...don't you think?
"I was in love with a girl once. I knew nothing would ever come of it but I liked the feeling anyway--to love from afar. Women like that do exist and I lived as if my life was a movie, so I knew how to act and how to feel...I felt like James Stewart following Kim Novak around in Hitchcock's Vertigo..."
Ok, I'm never going to write anything like an autobiography, so I might as well take this opportunity to share that my role model was none other than Kim Novak...wonder why... Oh well, I never met Jimmy Stewart though my first boyfriend was named Jimmy Stevenson, does that count...of course, that's when I was in 1st grade...LOL... Sorry Jack, but it's your memories that are creating my flashbacks! And that's one of the reasons that people like to read about others, isn't it? We get a vicarious thrill when we find that other's thoughts are similar to ours and/or exactly opposite, so that we have a reaction--a need to connect with that person and discuss those topics with him or her... Even frustration feels better if you're hearing it from another...Such as when Jack applied for Medicare online. Failed. Tried their automated telephone system... and then the punch line! "They want you to have a stroke and die during the process. I'm not kidding. If you die during the process but nowhere near completing it, they're off the hook..." Oh, my, did I enjoy this one! And then there was our mutual love of the Globetrotters... And his willingness to share about Vietnam... Of course you realize that I haven't even touched on so many of Jack's stories! But that's all right because if you have an interest in the era in which the mentioned events took place, then I think you will find that this writer has given readers a stimulating and inspiring look at his own life and the times in which he has lived. Some are funny, some are sad--some you'll agree with and some you won't. But you will have had the opportunity to read another's personal opinion about many of the "great times and events" during the past 50 years or so... Jack I loved this one! Tell your family to hold on to copies, because they are going to cherish this book some day in the future! GABixlerReviews
W.Jack Savage is a retired broadcaster, artist and educator. He is Vietnam Veteran and graduate of The University of Minnesota, Mankato and received his Master's Degree from California State University, Los Angeles. Jack has now authored six books: three novels, two short story collections and the autobiographical The High Sky of Winter's Shadows. To date, thirty-eight of Jack's short stories have been published in various online and print magazines. This includes all of them from his two short story collections, Bumping and Other Stories and The Petorik Thesis and Tales of the Global West. He has also designed the covers of his books using his original art work. These include his three novels: More With Cal and Uncle Bill, State Champions and The Children Shall Be Blameless. Jack's art has been featured in numerous publications as well. Jack and his wife Kathy live in Monrovia, California.
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