In retrospect, besides the novel, I enjoyed two levels of bliss of ignorance while reading Ray Bradbury‘s “A Graveyard for Lunatics”. First, I wasn’t aware that it was the middle book of a trilogy. Second, I didn’t recognize the people the book’s characters were based on, although I strongly suspected that “Fritz Wong” is about Fritz Lang. However not knowing the context of the book or the background of its people didn’t reduce the sheer fun it caused just reading it.
I found myself thinking that it was a simple guilty pleasure as I rarely read twisted mystery or detective novels. The characters and events were so over the top that I kept wondering whether it is a parody of a genre I am not familiar with. Couldn’t decide, but it didn’t matter, because by the time I dove into the question a whole new set of twists demanded my attention. If the measurements of a good detective stories include not being able to figure out whodunnit, not creating unrealistic coincidences to guide the storyline and getting caught up in the chase, then this novel is superb. If a good novel also supposed to have exciting turn of events, surprising yet theme appropriate locales then this book passes that test too.
It starts more or less on Halloween night of 1954. The unnamed narrator is a writer (and ex-autograph hunter) who just recently got his break in the film industry to write the script for horror B-movies. On that dark night he encounters the undead body of a film magnet next to studio in the cemetery. He and his friend (a special effect person specializing in gore) slowly solve the mystery of who that person was. In order to keep the mystery shrouded I will not share more of the storyline. Suffice to say it is a dark plot, similar to the kind the two friends were supposed to turn into movies. The noir feeling is so dark that the shadows of the book turned into hilarious for me. I couldn’t stop smiling or turning the pages as I read this fast paced thriller.
Gabor your reviews are getting so good! Did you think of publishing them on Amazon so that more people can benefit from them? I enjoy reading them. Thanx 4 posting this.
Thank you for the praise. I did think of posting the reviews on Amazon.com and have other plans too. The challenge with Amazon.com that my review don’t always comply with their guidelines and that I have to give a certain umber f starts for each book/movie. I canot stand the star system.
The real issue is that I write my reviews fast and often leave typos and errors in them. I know that I should at least re-read them before posting and putting out ni the word, but don’t always have the time/energy for it. So before spreading my reviews I want to go back and spell/grammar check them.
Thanks again for the acknowledgment.
BTW: I usually post my book reviews on Librarything and often get good feedback there. I wish something similar would exist for movies.