Archives for July 2012

Writing Every Day

July 31, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

I’ve been asked if I keep a writing schedule. Yes and No. There’s simply no way to strictly adhere to a pre-fixed schedule, just as there’s no way to pre-plan your meals for the next three weeks. There’s only one scheduling rule I have: I write every single day, no matter what.

Sometimes, other obligations get in the way, but I still find time to write. Even if it’s only for 15 minutes, I do some writing each and every day. That’s the only scheduling rule to which I adhere.

I find that if a day passes and I haven’t written something, it makes the day feel slightly incomplete.

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The Old Man and the Sea

July 31, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

Okay, I admit to regretting all the classics I never read as a kid, or even as an adult. There were many I did read, but was “forced” to as a school kid. One of them was “The Old Man and the Sea.” As I kid, I thought it was an “okay” story, and I sort of enjoyed the film with Spencer Tracy, too.

But I recently re-read the novel and realized something had changed within myself. I could actually feel and understand the depth of Santiago, the old man, and understood his feelings about the sea, the marlin he caught, about the sharks, and about his life and the lives of others, as these things are depicted in the novel

And, I could truly appreciate the power and beauty of Hemingway’s prose in this novel. His descriptions are magnificent, and Santiago’s character emerges in great depth, and the meaning of his struggle with the sea, too; all of it comes out in relatively few pages at the hand of a master.

I guess it pays to re-visit some of the classics that were thrust upon us in school, but with the perspective we now have. It was an awakening for me–a realization of the power of time and maturity and how they impact on one’s perceptions.

A fine read it is-“the Old Man and the Sea”-even if you read it long ago when you were a different person.

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“Gerald’s Game” by Stephen King

July 27, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

For all you lovers of horror novels out there, there’s one book by the master that’s far scarier than any of the horror stories Stephen King has told. It’s “Gerald’s Game.”

Here’s the set up: A husband and wife have this little sex “game” they play once in a while. He handcuffs her to a bed and they have sex. She’s not crazy about this little game, but consents to please her husband. This time, things don’t go very well. In fact, they go very badly.

While she’s shackled to the bedposts (both hands in separate handcuffs), she decides she’s tired of this little game and tells Gerald “Enough!” But he doesn’t listen, and finally, she kicks him, and Gerald rolls off the bed. He dies of a heart attack, on the floor. They’re at a vacation house, in the deepest woods near a lake in a very rural and lonely area.

She’s lying there with both hands cuffed to the bed; her dead husband is at the foot of the bed, and there’s no way she can escape this situation. Time passes, day turns into evening, then to night, and the sounds of the woods are frightening.

I won’t get into any spoilers, but at some point, a stray dog enters the cabin and begins devouring Gerald at the foot of the bed. The horror is plentiful, and plenty scary, and she begins reliving in her own mind various long-buried events from her childhood–ones that in a way are connected to the predicament in which she now finds herself.

Will she ever escape this situation? Will the dog turn to her after it’s finished with Gerald? And who is that man standing in the corner on the second night she lies there, bound and helpless? What on earth is going to happen?

It goes to show, among other things, that real events can be more horrifying than supernatural ones. They are the stuff of which nightmares can be made.

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“Next” fabulous stream-of consciousness writing

July 25, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

I am re-reading “Next” by James Hynes. This novel is worth every second of the time spent to read it, and then some. On the surface, it’s a story about a man named Kevin, a middle-aged editor living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, who has flown to Austin, Texas without telling his live-in girlfriend about his one day trip for a job interview. Yes, Kevin, in middle-age, may yet change the direction of his life.

The story starts out simply enough as you traverse the inner canyons of Kevin’s mind: his thoughts, ruminations, regrets and memories of his life over the years. He has a few hours to kill while waiting for the interview, and in a moment of hormone-driven impulsivity, decides to follow through the streets of Austin, a young woman who had been sitting next to him on the plane. It’s benign enough, except that during this travelogue through Austin’s streets, Kevin’s life story (and all his foibles) emerge in this interior novel, and some strange (and revealing) things happen.

I never throw spoilers into the mix but let me say Kevin’s few hours in Austin turn into quite an adventure with the book’s climax coming out of nowhere like a freight train on steroids.

This is a wonderful read, and the reader gets not only a penetrating view of the workings of Kevin’s mind-all his mistakes and regrets, his loves and losses-but luxuriates in an hilarious dissection of the culture in which we live . A true gem of a novel. Five well-deserved stars!

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A Study in Scarlet

July 24, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

Reading “A Study in Scarlet,” one of the early Sherlock Holmes mysteries. It’s quaint and time-bound by the conventions of that era and the writing style of the time.

It’s an interesting read, especially if you enjoy contemporary crime fiction. You see the evolution in detection methods, but also, and even more interesting, the changes in the structure and style of novels over the years.

Every now and then it’s good to take a look back at where things were so you can better understand where things are right now.

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“Breaking Bad” not a novel but a lesson in storytelling

July 23, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

While “Breaking Bad” is not a novel, it’s disturbing to see how money and commercial interest can interfere with good writing (whether in a novel or another medium). I’ve watched the series since it began and have thought it’s one of the best and most creative series on television.

I recently learned something about television and it’s reflected in “Breaking Bad.” I learned that in order for a series to go into syndication, it must have 100 or more episodes. So, AMC has decided to extend the series by 8 episodes this year, and by another 8 episodes in 2013.

In my opinion, this commerical scenario (the wish to go into syndication) has caused the first two episodes of this year to drag considerably. The writers are not advancing the story in any meaningful way but rather, seem to be prolonging the storyline for the sake of fulfilling the criteria for syndication. The first two episodes were bogged down in meaningless (and sometimes, distracting) detail. And the series is losing much of its punch and now seems to be plodding along.

It demonstrates the malignant role that commercial interests can have in storytelling, whether in a novel or some other medium. It’s sad how money seems so often to affect all art forms.

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The Khmer Kill: A Dox Short Story

July 22, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

This is the first short story by Barry Eisler I’ve read. Dox, who has appeared in other novels, is the protagonist. At the outset, you know something may be wrong with the assignment Dox is given: to assassinate a man involved in human trafficking in Cambodia.

Once again, Eisler captures the atmospheric reality of the locale. And he keeps the tension going as Dox suspects the assignment is not typical. Dox gets involved with a young, lovely Cambodian student, and has qualms about the relationship keep deepening since he will be leaving in a few days.

And when it comes to the kill, Dox turns out to be a man of deep moral conviction, despite the nature of his profession. Five stars out of five!

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Savages, the Film & Book

July 18, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

I’ve just seen Oliver Stone’s rendering of Don Winslow’s “Savages.” The film is a wonderful translation of the novel, done with typical Oliver Stone flair: quick cuts, an almost cartoonish touch at appropriate times, and a fast-driven, hard-hitting narrative drive that seems almost electric.

People who see a film often wonder if it’s worthwhile reading the book on which the film is based. In this case, the answer is YES!

The film has its own artistry and is rich in the many ways a film can be. I still contend the book is as rich as contemporary writing can get, but in a hip, stylized and exciting way that’s difficult to describe, especialy if you love language. There are scenes beautifully depicted in the book that can only be visually hinted at in the movie,and Don Winslow’s use of language and style make the book a worthwile read, even if you’ve seen the movie. Don’t miss this book.

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The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

July 13, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

Well, of course I’m aware that this one won the Mann Booker prize for fiction, so it was a no-brainer to read. It’s a beautifully written literary novel about an older man’s realizations and regrets as he looks back on his life. His ruminations are set into motion by an incident and the story comes together beautifully. It’s melancholic but not depressing and in some ways, raises more questions about the trajectery of the protagonist’s life than it answers. But the journey is what it’s all about. A must-read for anyone who loves well-written fiction.

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Barry Eisler’s John Rain Thrillers – The Detachment

July 7, 2012 by Mark Rubinstein

I’ve read all the John Rain thrillers over the last few years. They are extremely engrossing. The details of Tokyo and Japanese culture are incredible. Eisler paints pictures of the city and other locales (Europe and the United States) in such a colorful way, it makes you feel you’re actually there.His descriptions of John Rain’s precautionary methods, his shadowy lifestyle, and how Rain carries out his killing assignments are chilling, ingenious, and believable. His relationships with CIA rogues, renegades, and other assassins are drawn with skill and complexity.

Even more complicated are John Rain’s relationships with his lover Midori and with his Mossad agent-lover, Delilah.

In these novels, Eisler got me to experience something I wasn’t certain could happen: I cared deeply about a paid assassin who is a loner and a man without a country and seemingly without a conscience.

I recently read The Detachment, the latest John Rain novel, and Eisler managed to keep up the same level of tension and suspense as in the previous stories.

— Mark Rubinstein, author, Mad Dog House (October 2012)
The Detachment

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