So tomorrow Shaun and I are leaving for a little three day hiking trip, but I didn't just want to leave Palo Alto behind without at least being cracked open!
So James Franco writes a collection of short stories. Firstly, I was intrigued to learn that he has a MFA in creative writing from Brooklyn College. I had no idea, although I am quite a fan or his acting career :) Ok and I can't help but swoon over that smile! Nothing is hotter than a sexy man with a working brain!
Secondly, I had no idea he wrote a book. I don't know how that slipped past me but it did!
So Palo Alto it was. Very shortly anyways. I was finished this book before I even had time to process it. Two short sittings. I think I missed something. The stories went together, but then they didn't. Were they supposed to? It was a lot more raunchy than I expected, not graphic, but the subject content was not PG
. I liked that, I like reading disturbing things for some reason. But anyways, I was left with so many questions about the characters, their intention, etc. It was definitely different and very unique. A standing ovation for Mr.Franco from me, although I would love to sit down and talk to him about this one for sure.... hehe, wouldn't we all?
My hope is that he keeps writing and maybe develops a novel out of these stories? I'm not sure what he has up his sleeve as far as writing goes but I'd definitely read more.
This collection totally reminded me of being a teenager myself, though this book seems to have been set in to 90's and I was just a little too young to be a teen. My babysitter could have easily been any girl mentioned in this one
however.
Goodreads Summary:
A fiercely vivid collection of stories about troubled California teenagers and misfits--violent and harrowing, from the astonishingly talented actor and artist James Franco.
Palo Alto is the debut of a surprising and powerful new literary voice. Written with an immediate sense of place--claustrophobic and ominous--James Franco's collection traces the lives of an extended group of teenagers as they experiment with vices of all kinds, struggle with their families and one another, and succumb to self-destructive, often heartless nihilism. In "Lockheed" a young woman's summer--spent working a dull internship--is suddenly upended by a spectacular incident of violence at a house party. In "American History" a high school freshman attempts to impress a girl during a classroom skit with a realistic portrayal of a slave owner—only to have his feigned bigotry avenged. In "I Could Kill Someone," a lonely teenager buys a gun with the aim of killing his high school tormentor, but begins to wonder about his bully's own inner life.
These linked stories, stark, vivid, and disturbing, are a compelling portrait of lives on the rough fringes of youth.
Anyways I am sorry this review(?) is so scattered. My mind is in 100 places right now.
I can't wait to tell you about the next book I'm reading, I have so much to tell you! See you in a few days! Happy Reading!
So James Franco writes a collection of short stories. Firstly, I was intrigued to learn that he has a MFA in creative writing from Brooklyn College. I had no idea, although I am quite a fan or his acting career :) Ok and I can't help but swoon over that smile! Nothing is hotter than a sexy man with a working brain!
Secondly, I had no idea he wrote a book. I don't know how that slipped past me but it did!
So Palo Alto it was. Very shortly anyways. I was finished this book before I even had time to process it. Two short sittings. I think I missed something. The stories went together, but then they didn't. Were they supposed to? It was a lot more raunchy than I expected, not graphic, but the subject content was not PG
. I liked that, I like reading disturbing things for some reason. But anyways, I was left with so many questions about the characters, their intention, etc. It was definitely different and very unique. A standing ovation for Mr.Franco from me, although I would love to sit down and talk to him about this one for sure.... hehe, wouldn't we all?
My hope is that he keeps writing and maybe develops a novel out of these stories? I'm not sure what he has up his sleeve as far as writing goes but I'd definitely read more.
This collection totally reminded me of being a teenager myself, though this book seems to have been set in to 90's and I was just a little too young to be a teen. My babysitter could have easily been any girl mentioned in this one
however.
Goodreads Summary:
A fiercely vivid collection of stories about troubled California teenagers and misfits--violent and harrowing, from the astonishingly talented actor and artist James Franco.
Palo Alto is the debut of a surprising and powerful new literary voice. Written with an immediate sense of place--claustrophobic and ominous--James Franco's collection traces the lives of an extended group of teenagers as they experiment with vices of all kinds, struggle with their families and one another, and succumb to self-destructive, often heartless nihilism. In "Lockheed" a young woman's summer--spent working a dull internship--is suddenly upended by a spectacular incident of violence at a house party. In "American History" a high school freshman attempts to impress a girl during a classroom skit with a realistic portrayal of a slave owner—only to have his feigned bigotry avenged. In "I Could Kill Someone," a lonely teenager buys a gun with the aim of killing his high school tormentor, but begins to wonder about his bully's own inner life.
These linked stories, stark, vivid, and disturbing, are a compelling portrait of lives on the rough fringes of youth.
Anyways I am sorry this review(?) is so scattered. My mind is in 100 places right now.
I can't wait to tell you about the next book I'm reading, I have so much to tell you! See you in a few days! Happy Reading!
0 comments:
Post a Comment