The play's the thing wherein...... | N.Y./L.A.

N.Y. / L. A. | N.Y./L.A. | William Kronick

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	• N.Y./L.A. William Kronick AuthorHouse, 2006 - 316 pages average customer review:based on 6 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A Real Page Turner

Kronick's page turner develops a unique aspect of the "actor as genius" as the reader follows his travails in a world of inauthentic people. The author beautifully fleshes out his main character, Matt Fleming, in describing the challenges he faces as a creative person in the theatrical arena. Matt's ingenuous character made it particularly poignant for this reader. A good read!

The play's the thing wherein......

What a wonderful storyteller. A plot that works on many levels. Characters that are multifaceted, complex in motive and totally believeable.Moral dilemmas to challenege the philosopher in all of us. As is typical with Mr.Kronick he challenges his reader to engage questions about the ethical issues of society at large and the arts and creative world, in particular. The structure of the story is rather unique employing a screenplay within a story through which we are reminded of another tale by a rather well known author who once wrote,"The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King." And so, too, in N.Y./L.A.. A thoroughly enjoyable book. Highly recommended.

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N.Y. / L. A.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading N.Y. / L.A. The personalities are well developed and there is a sense of history, which adds depth to the story. There are flaws in the characters creating some very realistic dilemmas. The reader can related to the individuals in the book as we have all known similar people. The story has realism in the settings and like the author's previous book, Cooley Wyatt, there is a real feel of New York City. As the plot unfolds in N.Y. / L.A one is never sure until the last page how the events are going to play out. I highly recommend the book.

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...a wonderful book with a unique literary voice

Once again Mr. Kronick has woven a great story -- this time a new facet of the who-done-it genre -- that propels everyone along, both reader and characters in the book. "N.Y./L.A." is populated with characters who are believable and engaging. These people vary from the celebrity-follower to the proverbial "good person" wrestling with moral and ethical dilemmas that are intriguing. Much to Kronick's credit, no one in his book is a cliché or always predictable. The story is unique in its plot, its development and certainly its ending. As in Kronick's two previous novels, this one keeps the reader turning page after page to see the manner in which many of his people cope with the results of their own actions, often misguided at best or totally self-centered at worst. And all the while, the reader is wondering, "Is Matt right?"

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The Trilogy Comes Full Circle

There is great wisdom and philosophy in William Kronick's books, which makes them a pleasure to read. In "The Cry of Sirens" we experienced the art of directing through the troubled Ben Hawthorne. In "Cooley Wyatt" we experienced the art of journalism through Jack Amory. In "N.Y./L.A." we experience the world of acting through Matt Fleming.

The three books are quite different stylistically but the common denominator is a philosophical look at the life and craft of a complex and troubled protagonist. Each book has its secrets and the end of "N.Y./L.A." is smashing.

Ultimately the theme of "N.Y./L.A." is the artistic process and the integrity of the artist in the face of personal challenges and demons. It is told in an ingenious way. The title is an allegory in itself.

I look forward to the next William Kronick offering.

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The colorful, morally complex life of Matthew Fleming, an actor of rare talent, from an impoverished but work-filled decade in Off-Broadway theaters through his 'overnight' success on Broadway - then on to international acclaim as a charismatic movie star - is the 'stuff of this gripping novel. Matt is haunted by the belief his leap from obscurity to fame wasn't due to his gift alone but also to the death of a wealthy lover, Andrea Whittaker. He is convinced her drowning, considered accidental, was, in fact, a murder and that he knows the perpetrator. Yet for reasons he's long repressed, he never sought justice for the killer. A lesser anguish gnawing at Matt Fleming's emotional core is his need to express himself on stage before live audiences. To make the break from his domineering manager/partner, David Whittaker -Andrea's widowed husband - who insists he stick with movies, and Laura Fleming, his glamor-struck wife who would never leave Malibu with Harry, their young son, to return to gritty N. Y., he jumps at an offer to make an 'art' film in England. He hopes it will provide the distance he needs in order to decide how he can rid himself of real and imagined demons... The narrative begins and ends in the winter of 2000. A youthful forty, Matt is playing Prince Hal in director Kenneth Branagh's version of Shakespeare's Henry IV. A role he's always aspired to, his London experience is further buoyed by a serious, surreptitious love affair with Beth Winters, the Lady Percy of the film. But he dare not make her privy to the dilemmas which by now are causing him to have terrifying nightmares. Re-enter Charley Sutter. A retired New York Homicide detective turned insurance investigator, he first met Matt ten years before when assessing whether Andrea's death possibly could have been a suicide. Despite their brief encounters since Matt moved to L. A., a strong father-son bond developed between the two men. It is to Sutter he finally confesses his weighty secret, flyi

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