The Murder of the Frogs and Other Stories - by Don Carpenter (Paperback)
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<p/><br></br><p><b> About the Book </b></p></br></br>"The High Sierras, the Oregon back country, Hollywood, San Francisco and its environs provide settings for the two novellas and eight shorter pieces brought together in this uncommonly substantial and satisfying volume by the author of Hard Rain Falling and Blade of Light. Among the six stories with which the collection begins is a brief, start, cooly shocking tale called "Limbo." The other five are longer, but not without shocks of their own. "Road Show," about a trio of small-time entertainers-two white, one black-explodes into violence at the end. "The Crossroader," which concerns a black pool-hall hustler who wins a signal victory in an all-white town, and "Blue Eyes," in which the confrontation is between whites and a half-Indian girl, recall the arresting early chapters of Hard Rain Falling. In "New York to Los Angeles," two innocents from New York begin to discover Hollywood; "Silver Lamâe" concerns a very young man on the make in Mill Valley and a much older woman who knows exactly what she wants. Hollywood is again the setting for "The Art of the Film," which comprises two mordant companion pieces, starring in turn a shrewd old tycoon whose memories go back to the film industry's beginnings and a young newspaperman who becomes one of his latter-day hirelings. The novellas are at opposite poles from each other. Set in a summer colony by a mountain lake, "The Murder of the Frogs," about a boy's first ecstatic and agonizing discovery of love, is almost an idyll-except for the episode from which it takes its title. "One of Those Big-City Girls," a San Francisco story, is a compassionate study of a woman, a depiction of human loneliness as haunting and memorable as Blade of Light. Don Carpenter emerges, in this book, not just as a superb storyteller who challenges comparison with the masters of the form, but also as a writer of impressive range and variety"--<p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br>"No pretty little thoughts, no fake faith-restoratives -- just hard solid craftsmanship and style." -- <i>The New York Times</i> (An Outstanding Book of the Year) <p/> From the author of <i>Hard Rain Falling</i> and <i>Blade of Light</i> come these two novellas and eight shorter pieces that explore racial conflict and the agonies of loneliness and heartbreak: "The Crossroader," in which a Black drifter outfoxes an all-white crew of small-town hustlers; "Blue Eyes," the story of an aging half-Indian prostitute and her increasingly respectable white lover; "One of Those Big-City Girls," concerning a woman in her forties drawn to younger men; and more, including the title tale, a moving narrative of a boy's first love. <p/> "Carpenter shows his versatility and ability to handle strong themes with cool precision...a consistently interesting craftsman." -- <i>Kirkus Reviews</i> <p/> "Don Carpenter is a particular favorite of mine." -- Jonathan Lethem <p/> "Don Carpenter could be hilarious, and he could break your heart, and he could write about ego and frailty as well as anyone on earth. I loved him like crazy." -- Anne Lamott<p/><br></br><p><b> About the Author </b></p></br></br>Don Carpenter (1931-95) gained immediate critical recognition with this first book, <i>Hard Rain Falling, </i> which was acclaimed as one of the notable novels of 1966. His second novel, <i>Blade of Light </i>(1967), also won nationwide praise. He went on to write numerous novels, novellas, short stories and screenplays over the course of a 22-year career that took him from a childhood in Berkeley and the Pacific Northwest to the corridors of power in Hollywood. A close observer of human frailty, he wrote about marginal characters like pool sharks, prisoners, and drug dealers, as well as movie moguls and struggling actors. Facing a mounting series of debilitating illnesses, Carpenter committed suicide in 1995.
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