Sorry folks...please forgive errors of omission, spelling formatting, grammar (though I've managed to clean up most after much struggle)...I can't seem to master the new system and it's driving me to drink.   Skoal!

Having written some harsh (and maybe even snarky?--oy, I hate doing that) words in recent posts about a certain popular novel and a (in a post to come) highly touted play -I thought I'd attempt to balance the scales by spreading the word about some of the good stuff.  And I hope it  serves to remind me in the future that the dark temptations of the rant (oh, but it's such fun) are never as rewarding as the bright joys of the rave...

I wrote previously about Michael Malone and just finished this second novel from the Trilogy that begins with Uncivil Seasons and concludes with First Lady.  Some critics have called it " To Kill A Mockingbird" for grown-ups.  But I think that's a bit glib and mis-leading.  Malone is too smart and aware of life's insurmountable injustices to paint his canvas in such clearly defined brushstrokes of right and wrong or good and evil.  And though he has a Dickensian knack for manipulating  emotions  for dramatic effect--he more often succeeds by virtue of his clear-headed and deeply moral humanist vision.  He's also has an irreverent wit and a sharp eye and ear for the telling detail--which he gives to his lead character Cuddy Mangum--the most unlikely small town Southern Police Chief you could imagine. Think Faulkner with a sly grin and...eminently more readable. 

Go figure right?  But it's really good.  Hard to swallow that he could be the real deal with pen and ink as well as with skillet and sauce, but what can I say, he cooked up a real corker here.  And it's  a hoot of a tale. Young guy working in Italian restaurant in Little Italy, trying to go straight despite Mob family history and ties, gets in a jam, is painted into a corner by  the Feds, works with a Chef who's a junkie, sleeps with a girl who's tougher than he is and his mobbed up Uncle is just as likely to whack him as hug him.  It's like Prizzi's Honor, but better, and with a lot of food preparation.  It's got real soul, and I'm a sucker for: "... It's over man...Fucking fried calamari?...Have you ever tried it? I don't want to slink outta here at the end of the day, wondering who's gonna get diarrhea...I hate that...They need a chef, they get some moke from the neighborhood in, some guy too stupid to steal cars..."

Was thinking about this show after seeing Clybourne Park (more on that soon) and wondering if I ever saw anything on Broadway that addressed the issue of race and class with any reality bite to it.  And I remembered that this one did.  It came and went after only a four month run on Broadway.  I thought it was terrific. Actually, thought it was a masterpiece. My memory of it is almost like it was a dream I had and couldn't get out of my head, which I  imagine is a  sign of something special.  Kushner's lyrics are unusually sharp and smart and  moving. The entire concept is different from the standard musical fare-- and Jeanine Tesori's score is a revelation.  It's not a "Broadway" score.  It's a blend of Gospel, Blues, Jazz and New Orleans funk mixed with some Motown inspired harmonies sung with Carla Thomas true grit.   I also remember that I cried  at least twice and had a hard time stopping at the final curtain.

Full disclosure.  I know the author ( by way of good buddy and generous patron of the arts--Doctor A.M.)  That said, and all subjective affection and familiarity aside,  Second Hand Smoke is a great book. So is Thane's Short Story collection Elijah Visible and non-fiction The Myth of Moral Justice. He's  currently working on a non-fiction book concerning "Revenge" --which as he pointed out recently is the same thing as "Justice." Hmmm...? I look forward to  further elaboration.  He's a frequent editorial contributor  to The NY Times and many  other pubs and a particularly salient observer  of issues pertaining to Jewish history, law and Middle East politics.

Thane's latest, The Stranger Within Sarah Stein is his first foray into the "Young Adult" market.  It's a contemporary urban Alice Through The Looking Glass magical/realism fable that plays a fanciful game of hide 'n seek with identity, race, class, religion, The Holocaust, art, marriage, parenting, and it's all craftily patched together in a crazy quilt of a plot that moves swiftly and dramatically to a "race against time" climax with a twist on the traditional fairy tale ending.  I asked him if he approached writing this book with the Young Adult reader in mind, and he said that he didn't--but I suspect that, unconsciously perhaps, he harnessed his instinctive understanding of the powerful and heightened role imagination plays in navigating the bumpy road through adolescence.  I think all that awful Vampire themed junk flooding the market is being served up by dint of that universal truth, and it's a pity that the  tastier and more nutritious soul food from writers like Thane isn't more prominently featured on the mass market menu.

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Dear Blogspot or Google or whoever you are who "Improved" the Blogger Workstation,

Just a short note to say Thanks, but no thanks.  I was initially seduced by all the shiny new tools with all their sleek high-tech style, but after a week spent trying to simply write and edit my blog, I've concluded that your improvements are a big pain in the butt.  For every new option, there's a restriction.  For every convenience and time saving process, there's a price to be paid in limited creative freedom.  I don't want everything to be automatic, I want manual control.

And what's the use of the "Preview" option if the Preview looks nothing at all like the final post?  In short, the new system sucks.  Do you expect me to learn HTML in order to make corrections? Are you friggin nuts?   Please reinstate the old system (call it "Blogspot Classic" if that makes your marketing people happy) and give me back control of my blog!