The first book I read for this year’s annual Booktopia VT
event was Leading Men by Christopher
Castellani. This novel about Tennessee Williams and his real-life partner from
New Jersey particularly caught my attention because the author is originally
from Wilmington, Delaware, where we live. Our local newspaper did a big story
of him and this new fifth book shortly after the Booktopia line-up was
announced, so I was doubly intrigued.
In real life, the famous playwright Tennessee Williams had a
15-year love affair with Frank Merlo, an exuberant young Italian-American man
from New Jersey, raised in a blue-collar family. It has been well-documented
that the pair spent the summer of 1953, at the height of their relationship, in
Italy. In this novel, Castellani takes a real-life event – a party hosted by
Truman Capote in the Italian coastal town of Portofino that summer – and
imagines what might have happened between Tenn and Frank and their friends that
forever changed each of their lives. Much of the action of the novel takes place
over that one weekend in sun-drenched Portofino among the beautiful people,
though there are also passages about Frank’s death from cancer ten years later
and chapters that take place in the present-day, from the perspective of an
aging actress named Anja who met Tenn and Frank over that sultry weekend that
launched her career.
It took me a little while to get into this novel (possibly
because I was reading in short spurts at the beginning), but once I got to know
the characters a bit, I was hooked. Castellani takes full advantage of the
exotic setting, painting a vivid image of the picturesque town and the lives of
its wealthy visitors. There’s a lot more depth to the novel, though, than just
the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Castellani frames this weekend as one
where people meet for the first time and forever remain a part of each other’s
lives. He also delves deep into the relationship between Tenn and Frank – the
good, the bad, and the ugly – based in part on historical documents, letters,
and memoirs of the famed playwright and filling in the rest with his
imagination. There is even a long-lost final play by Williams to add to the
intrigue. This unique novel that mixes
fact and fiction completely entranced me and brought me into its world, so far
removed from my own. I was immersed from beginning to end and am looking
forward to reading more from this new-to-me writer…and meeting him this
weekend!
354 pages, Viking
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Listen to a sample of the audio book. I read this one in print, but I think I would have enjoyed hearing the Italian sprinkled in on the audio.
You can purchase Leading Men from an independent
bookstore, either locally or online, here:
One suggestion: Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT, which is hosting Booktopia this weekend:
I think it's interesting when authors take real life events and spin them into a story that isn't real by pretending that something happened. When I'm reading the book, I often forget it isn't the truth. :-)
ReplyDeleteYes! That mix of history and fiction is always intriguing!
DeleteI've been having trouble getting into books lately because I only seem to have those short spurts to read in. This sounds like a book I'd love.
ReplyDeleteIt was excellent - and I loved meeting the author this weekend! Now I want to read some of his backlist, too.
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