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Leslie Epstein's new novel, set in Los Angeles in the 1950s and then, in 2000, depicts the Jacobis, the family of a famous film writer and director. Their story is told by Richard Jacobi, elder son, at the summit of his career as a painter. In five extended narratives, the novel traces the trajectory of Richard's self-awareness as he comes to terms with the death of his father and its lasting effects on his mother, brother, and himself. At the same time, the novel meditates on the status of Jews and African-Americans in the U.S. after World War II, and beautifully evokes the landscape of Southern California in its last days before millions begin to migrate there. Richard's reflections betray no nostalgia, but record his feelings for a region and the people close to him. We see him on his living room floor watching, on a brand-new 1952 Zenith television, the broadcast of his father testifying before the House Committee on un-American Activities, at the beach in Malibu sizing up a French poseur in pursuit of his mother and her money, and on a trip with his brother and friends to a bar and brothel in Mexico. Through his sensitive discernment, the novel's stories build until one moment crystallizes all that has come before.
In this novel, Leslie Epstein has revealed his past through the lens of his art. Much like Proust, he shows how memory shapes the crucial events of a life. |
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Handsel Books is an imprint of Other Press
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Other Press is a young publisher of trade fiction and non-fiction titles, poetry, and current affairs.
We aspire to bring a new dynamic to the industry through books that challenge our reader.