Sinatra - Behind the Legend by J Randy Taraborrelli.
Some months after my father died I thought I'd read a Sinatra bio as some kind of tribute. Dad was a Sinatra fan and growing up in Chichester during the war, the US troops stationed there teased him about his resemblance to the then young singer. Dad lives with us in the family home until he died - after our experience with Surrey care homes via our mother there was no way we'd let him go into one - and I gradually bought a whole load of Sinatra albums from second-hand shops over the years.
Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of Sinatra's life would notice the drawbacks of reading a bio with this intention - short, fiery of temper, Sagittarian, not particularly faithful - and I suppose the gag is you could say the same of Sinatra too.
Taraborrelli's book doesn't have wonderful prose - perhaps for that you'd be seeking out the two volumes by James Kaplan. You don't get transported back to former eras, the flavours, the smells, the fashions of yesteryear. It isn't the Last Train to Memphis treatment Elvis got from Peter Guralnick. It has no interest in upselling or sensationalising Sinatra's gangster links or exploring GoodFellas territory - for that, you might read Ratpack Confidential by Shawn Levy. And as the writer enjoys good relations with Sinatra's family - notably his daughters Tina and Nancy - it's not going to be a muck-raking expose of the Kitty Kelly nature either.
The prose is chatty and initially grates almost. He talks you through it. It's clear he has no wish to offend, and often quotes of conversations from the likes of Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr are phrased 'according to his memory of the conversation' as it the ghost of Sinatra might rise from the grave and thump the writer. Then you realise the first draft was written while Sinatra was alive, and this one was updated years later when dirtier secrets could be aired, but some of the earlier stylings remain. It's a little unclear which sections were added later though the postcript probably clarifies.
What is notable is despite all this the writer doesn't soft soap Sinatra at all and he still often comes across as a ratbag, a man easier to admire than to like as one reviewer puts in on Amazon. It's unfair, in that we are told of one band member who fell out with him, but later the singer gifted him a huge amount of money to set him up but while this is mentioned, it's one short paragraph or couple of lines, it would have meant a lot to the recipient - life-changing - but it's glossed over here.
It's a long book - over 500 pages - but Sinatra lived a long life too.
The sagas of Betty Becall - summarily dumped and 'ghosted' though the term wasn't around back then, President Kennedy - who in turn ghosted Sinatra after his help getting him into the White House; Sinatra took this with his usual good grace, vandalising the Beverly Hills pad he'd build and furnished for the no longer visiting Kennedy, plus his dalliance with Marilyn Monroe, all are covered entertainingly here. Murkier associations regarding Monroe's death are glossed over or ignored - for that try out Bombshell - the Night Bobby Kennedy Killed Marilyn Monroe by Douglas Thompson and Mike Rothmiller. I suppose a book like Taraborrelli's does allow you the chance of enjoying Sinatra's music after reading it, but all the same, he comes across as a kind of Trump like figure, the John Wayne type, who makes a fine friend but an wholly petty, vindictive and often unnecessary enemy. His interaction with Mia Farrow reads well - again, she gets ghosted when she needs to finish her movie, though as she didn't demand alimony it's said they stayed on good terms; exactly how it isn't made clear, in terms of did they ever meet up for drinks again? The gag about Ronan Farrow being Sinatra's son - to be fair, he also looks like his mother - deflected by the Catch and Kill author jesting on Twitter 'Let's face it, we're all possibly Sinatra's son...'
It is an odd thing reading about the likes of Peter Sellers, John Lennon and now Sinatra, that blokes who often treated women very badly wound up married to the mother of all witches whose sole strategy seems to be to alienate their man against any children from a former marriage and disinherit said children, cutting them of of the will if possible. In the same way a person can mull over grievances inflicted on them as kids, and in a wholly separate compartment, rue the cruel slights and nastiness they meted out to others over the same time frame, it is easy for the fan not not realise that their heroes probably deserved what they got in their final capitulation, even if their kids didn't.
Barbara Marx doesn't seem as bad as some of them but you'd have to keep an eye on her. She tried to get Frank to adopt her son from a previous marriage. Her son at the time was 25! You get the same sense of stress a family have dealing with all that, and in the end daughter Nancy coolly nixed it in one telephone call. The author does his best but drily notes that Sinatra's new wife had tried to get her former husband Zeppo Marx to adopt her son too, she had form on this, even though Zeppo didn't care for her son much, it seems.
There isn't much sense that Sinatra's only son Frank Jnr had much to contribute directly in the way of interviews, there's no sense he had a beef with his mother-in-law, it's like he kept out of it.
In a chapter devoted to an evening Barbara puts on as hostess at their Palm Springs abode, with dinner formally served and a movie shown to guests, the author is a master of his game. She doesn't put a foot wrong, you can't fault her, it's just - by the end of it, you just hate her. She comes across as one of those quintassentially awful American wives, like Angela Lansbury in The Manchurian Candidate. Or am I being sexist, or anti-American? Yet it's clear this is the author's view too, you later read about the house being bugged when Sinatra's daughters visit. That said, what kind of woman would endure a marriage to Sinatra? But it did seem she alienated his long-term manager who quit, reading between the lines, because of her conduct. Not that, you sense, Frank needed too much encouragement in ditching folk who reminded him of the past.
In truth, this section while well-written turns into a family melodrama but it continues to note Sinatra's concerts - he really did keep on going, and Barbel who caught him in Scotland while he was on an upswing might be interested to read about the star's up and down performances around that time. But the author isn't a music critic nor quite a film critic, in fact Sinatra just had too big a life to be put in one book. Do you judge a man by the company he keeps, his personal life or his working output? Rather too much praise is lavished on some of his later work - you can listen to them on YouTube of course and hear for yourself.
It also charts the doomed comeback concert with Davis Jr and Dean Martin, where the latter dropped out, not really being able to get over the death of his son in a plane crash and not living up to Sinatra's performance expectations; he was replaced by Liza Minnelli so the tour could go on. By this time you get the feeling Sinatra is sort of running on empty or on fumes at least while others nonetheless fall by the wayside; he did outlive most of his other pals.
If you start reading some of these chapters late at night you will find it is 1am when you next look up, it is compulsive reading and all the more damning to Frank Sinatra for aiming to be fair.
Good review. I've stopped reading. I've stopped watching movies, pretty much. Like Sinatra, although I am not his age, I am running on empty. The mojo has baulked.
What are you on about, you saw Strip Poker the other day. And The Killing Fields. While The Vampires Night Orgy is on TPTV right now - lousy music though, we'll expect your review tomorrow.
In truth, @chrisno1 you do seem to be watching some depressing movies these days, I wouldn't get into the habit of that, I did it years ago when I joined a DVD rental service called Lovefilm, they sent them out in the post, you get on the treadmill. There's a tendency to watch worthy movies and tick them off the list, it's no way to enjoy leisure time.
Join a gym and do interval training on another kind of treadmill - I did it last week and it has really pepped me up, not kidding.
Nice review, NP. I won’t be reading this one; as with Fleming, I've read enough Sinatra biographies.
Yes indeed, I did see him back in the day and he was superb. I don't have just my memory to rely on there, having a bootleg of the concert which somehow came into my hands.
I do know there was no love between Frank's children and Barbara, that being more or less public knowledge. And like you I had a good laugh over the Ronan Farrow bit you mention.
What year was that Barbel, and which venue, do you recall?
It's odd how his voice had its ups and downs over the decades, I sort of compare it to Paul McCartney though really he has been on a largely downward trajectory - at least Lulu talked recently of resting her voice during the day of a performance, as has Rod Stewart, I'm not sure Macca bothers to do that.
1990, at Ibrox Stadium. The only way to get me into a football stadium.
Yes, his voice did have its ups and downs which over such a long career is only to be expected. Funny thing, when I was young I preferred Sinatra's older voice (New York New York, Mack The Knife, Let Me Try Again) and nowadays I prefer his young voice (All Or Nothing At All, I'll Never Smile Again, Saturday Night).
I don't have many regrets in life, but I was visiting my Dad in Polmont in 1990 and had seen the concert advertised. I rashly suggested we went to see him, as there appeared to be tickets available - but Dad didn't want to make the trip and be disappointed. Later on, in the Black Bull his mate Gordon comes in full of the joys - he had just been to see Sinatra at Ibrox Stadium - bought a ticket on the turnstiles for half price. I kept sheepishly quiet.
Controversial film director and restaurant critic Michael Winner tells the story of his life in an absorbing autobiography. He’s a bit full of himself, but he is a genuine English eccentric, and they are something missing from society nowadays. It seems there are few famous actors, actresses and notable people that he hasn’t either worked with, or met at various functions. His recollections are both humorous and poignant. A fascinating insight into an unfairly critically dismissed director.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE – J. K. Rowling (1997)
Well, Harry Potter doesn’t need any introductions, really. Suffice to say, I have never read one of Rowling’s novels, not ever. I picked this one up for free off the book shlef in the hotel atrium on my recent holiday. I replaced it before I left. I wasn’t very impressed with the standard of Rowling's writing, although I understand of course the readership she is aiming at is not my demographic. Harry Potter #1 is remarkably plain, tinged with sudden moments of extravagance that make you nod wisely and makes one think of the films, which do a sterling job of recreating Rowling’s wizardry world.
In fact, it’s the world of witchcraft and wizards and childish fantasy which would draw a younger reader in, harking back to the traditional literatures of fireside stories, Grimm Tales and Arthurian legends. There are fantastic happenings, but none of it feels too magnificent to overpower the central story, which for the most part is a Tom Brown’s School Days update of bullies and comforting teachers. There isn’t much of genuine insight, psychological or otherwise, and the novel feels padded at [for Rowling] a short length of 329 pages. I remember reading that Rowling’s agent was excited by the chapter The Mirror of Erised, which he felt was so magical it would touch the heart of children and adults everywhere. I must have an untouchable heart. The plot, easily forgettable, is slow to develop – it does evolve over a whole school year – and we don’t care very much about it. The challenges the young hero faces do not seem very threatening under Rowling’s prose, even when they involve life-and-death situations. The resolution is so silly – basically, Harry Potter’s goodness of heart saved him – it makes her hero unbeatable from the off, so why should we care?
Okay, I am an adult reading a kid’s book, but I think children are wise enough to pick that out as well. Would I have read this as an adolescent? Probably not. I was reading James Bond and Wilbur Smith at age 11, tough stories about tough men in realistic worldly peril – why would I care about a spectacled wizard living in a fantasy castle? I think modern children need to grow up some more. Rowling and her imitators have not done them any favours and the proliferation of fantasy or comic book novels, graphic novels and movies bears this out. This semblance of reality seems to be missing from so much media, replaced by a kind of superhero violence and impossible wonder, that it is creeping into actual reality, with technologies such as AI not aiding the need for honest representation of people, places and happenings. That’s getting off the point a little, but I do feel the fantasy genre has veered too far away from its people and their personalities and experiences, preferring the ‘creatures’ or human legends and their ridiculous other worldly antics. I am sure there is mature sci-fi and fantasy out there, for adults and kids, but I am not very certain of saying so.
Just as an aside, @chrisno1, have you read the Young Bond books and what did you think? I see them as an attempt by the Bond world to capture the Harry Potter market; sometimes the first one or two felt like Hogwarts without the magic. I'm not meaning to criticise them in saying that.
After the very disappointing last instalment BetterOffDead, it seems as if original author Lee has had a much larger input in this 27th novel of the Jack Reacher series. Reacher witnesses pushing a woman to her death in front of a moving bus, another witness claims it was clearly suicide. Reacher begins to investigate and finds himself centre of an elaborate and highly dangerous situation involving…well I won’t spoil the plot for those who may read it. Reacher fans will find that the series is back in form, not absolutely top drawer Reacher, but a decent effort.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Albert Camus’s famous story of the nonconformist Meursault and his downfall in pre-war Algeria is packed full of painful emotional insights and slanted by a political agenda which sits uneasily beside the open-and-shut murder case that frames the story. Camus isn’t interested in justice, so much as perceived justice. He pokes fun at the law, certainly, and you sense his character’s frustration with both the system – slow and heartless and based on an idea of Catholic morality – as well as the contradictory basic amorality of it – where facts, words and actions are twisted to suit a narrative rather than reflect their actual intent. Camus sets his lead character up as a sacrificial lamb to the guillotine of slaughter, exemplified by his Christlike exclamation: “I opened myself to the tender indifference of the world… So that it might be finished, so that I might feel less alone, I could only hope there would be many, many spectators… and they would greet me with cries of hatred.”
Are we interested in Camus’s politics? Not very. What really intrigues are the stark examples of daily life in Algiers. The laziness of it. The funeral rites. The lolling days. The idle swimming. The rocky beaches. The odd neighbourhood. The old man who misses his dog. The beautiful typist Marie who is smitten by Meursault, shares his bed, but never understands him. The despicable prison atmospheres. The heat and dust of the sun, which never leaves the narrative for a moment, watching – godlike, one assumes – over endless days. Camus writes of a believable, genuine world, with brevity and preciseness. The Outsider is urgent because of it, full of life because his words convey exactly what he wants us to see, without glitter and glamour, or even dirge and dirt. We see everything through Meursault’s superior, questioning and logical eye and mind. Even his random act of violence, which does not seem to encapsulate his personality, is analysed and fractured to the point it infects the remainder of his behaviours, making his whole character questionable and his actions unusual, when on first reading, they are not.
Camus’s ability to delve inside his character – essentially inside his own emotions and beliefs and transpose them onto the page – is why he is such a revered writer. There is as much certainty as there is blurring; passages of intensity and thrift. Meursault’s attitudes do not endear him to us; he is not particularly likeable; but he is believable. His inevitable downfall comes eventually as a relief, as much to us as to him, and a final angry confrontation with a priest, an argument about choice and predestination, vindicates his identity: as a man of freewill, even on the point of death.
The Outsider is brilliant, short and jammed full of intense detail and genuine psychological attachments. Recommended.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 31,059Chief of Staff
The next Reacher novel - The Secret - is passable too…I haven’t gotten around to In Too Deep yet…the series was beginning to struggle when Andrew came on board to ‘help’…although I’m not sure how the writing is done now…in past interviews Lee always said he sat at his computer and just typed…he’d not planned anything beforehand 🤷🏻♂️
I haven’t read TheSecret, I’m not keen on stories that are set in the past as you know that Reacher can’t be killed. I mean you know he’s not going to be killed in the present day stories but it’s kind of different, there’s always a possibility it could happen. I will get round to InTooDeep at some point, but it’s not high up on my reading list at the moment.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Lately, I am reading the Geheimagent Lennet Youth Novels again (French Original Langelot) about a French Teen Agent working for the French Intelligence Service SNIF. Author is Vladimir Volkoff a.k.a Lieutenant X, who is a former intelligence employee.
Those Books are from the spy craze era of the 1960s, but were written until the 1990s.
Are the Langelot Books known to you in your area?
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 31,059Chief of Staff
I’m a bit behind with my reading, it’s taken two years to get to this one (spending too much time reading the 300+ westerns written by the Piccadilly Cowboys, who I’ve written about on this site before).
This one features private investigator Holly Gibney who began life as a minor character in King’s Bill Hodges trilogy and a novella in the short story book IfItBleeds. In this one she is the lead character and is called in to investigate a missing person and discovers a potential case of serial killings over many years. Once again King is masterful at describing small town America and it’s inhabitants. The mystery is compelling even though the final section is sort of telegraphed early on.
My daughter bought me the next in the series, NeverFlinch for Father’s Day, so I will read that after something else.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
I like authors who write page turners, those books where you justhave to read the next chapter. Unfortunately, McCloskey isn’t one of those authors. A group of present and ex-CIA officers get wind of a Russian mole working out of Langley. Using their resources they attempt to uncover who it is. It’s all done earnestly but, it’s not exciting, it’s not compelling, and worst of all, it becomes boring with obvious stock characters. This is McCloskey’s third novel, it was given to me as a birthday present, I won’t be searching for any more.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 31,059Chief of Staff
No, I haven’t read them, some of the same characters are in the first two, I believe, but the third can be read as a stand alone novel. Obviously my opinion is just that, mine, for me the novel doesn’t have that page turning feeling, I found it stodgy.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
This is the first book the author published in the Witcher series and also the only Witcher book I've read so far. I haven't seen the TV series either. the book is really a collection of short stories. As many of you know the Witcher is a series of books in the fantasy genere, a genere I haven't really read for decades (with the exception of the Harry Potter books). Witchers are monster hunters given training and superhuman abilities for the purpose of killing dangerous creatures.The main character is Geralt of Rivera, played by Henry Cavil in the TV series. I'd say the style is a mix of adventure, action , horror and comedy. From what I understand the author has borrowed from Polish and Slavic folklore, and sometimes from well-known fairy tales. When we recognize something from a fairy tale there is always a gritty and even brutal twist to it. for example "Snow White gets raped by the hunter before he releases her into the forest. The fantasy world of the series is revealed or hinted at very gradually instead of being explained, something I liked. So far I've found the series different enough from other genere entries and thrilling enough to keep reading about Geralt.
King’s latest collection of short stories has some echoes from past novels.
TWO TALENTED BASTIDS…Two friends and business partners encounter an alien on their annual hunting trip in the local woods and their lives are changed forevermore. Very much referencing the themes of Dreamcatcher and TheTommyknockers this tale reminds us that creativity is within is all and only needs something to open it up to inspire us to greater things. 8/10
THE FIFTH STEP…A retired engineer on his daily walk in Central Park meets a stranger on a bench seeking help with his alcoholic rehabilitation. This a slow moving tale which builds to a shocking finale. 7/10
WILLIE THE WEIRDO…Mom, Dad, kids Roxie and Willie and Grampa lead an ordinary family life. Willie is considered a bit of a “weirdo” and he loves listening to Grampa’s tall tales of historical events of centuries ago. A terrific twist ending leaves you wondering why you hadn’t grasped it long before. 8/10
DANNY COUGHLIN’S BAD DREAM…Danny has a bad dream of finding a dead body. It’s so detailed that he goes on a journey to see if it’s true and he indeed finds the dead body. Making an anonymous phone call to report it to the police is his first mistake as he becomes the prime suspect. King revisits familiar themes like in TheOutsider in this one but the tale is gripping with Hitchcock like suspense. Terrific. 10/10
FINN…Finn has always been unlucky from the moment of being dropped by the midwife on his birth, but being mistakenly kidnapped because he’s wearing the same clothing as a criminal a gang is pursuing, and being tortured for information he doesn’t know, becomes his worst misfortune. This a bit of a mish-mash with an inconclusive ending. 5/10
ON SLIDE INN ROAD…A family road trip turns into jeopardy when they encounter two ruthless criminals on a lonely road. This a thrilling story which explores family bonds and the resilience of survival. 9/10
RED SCREEN…A hen-pecked police officer interviews a murder suspect and is led into the realms of paranoia by his claims. A strangely uninteresting and ultimately unsatisfying tale. 4/10
THE TURBULENCE EXPERT…What is the power that Craig Dixon has to avert disaster on planes encountering clear-air turbulence? Another tale that is unfortunately less than interesting. 5/10
LAURIE…A widower is gifted a dog by his sister. At first uninterested he becomes attached to his pet and their daily walks ultimately find something lurking and terrifying. The story builds tension slowly but surely and the writing is top-notch as it heads towards the conclusion. 8/10
RATTLESNAKES…Taking a character from the novel Cujo, we jump forward in time 40 years to a retired Vic Trenton (the father in the novel) who is now widowed and is housesitting in a friends abode on Rattlesnake Key. The place has a dark past and when Vic meets an eccentric neighbour things take a sinister and ghostly turn. This a haunting and chilling thriller with atmospheric vivid writing. Superb. 10/10
THE DREAMERS…A young Vietnam veteran tries to escape his inner demons by working as a stenographer to a scientist experimenting with the dark recesses of human consciousness. A Lovecraftian tale with visceral imagery. 7/10
THE ANSWER MAN…In less than 50 pages we get the life story of Phil, a small town lawyer, who encounters The Answer Man who will answer any three questions given to him for 25 dollars, which sets Phil on a journey of introspection. This is a beautiful and heart rendering tale which clamours for a full blown novel. 10/10
THE MUSIC ROOM…A husband and wife have something hidden in the closet. A very short but unnerving tale which perhaps led to the novel Holly. 8/10
Four superb, four excellent, two good and three so-so stories make a book well worth reading.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
To discuss something touched on above: King has said that sometimes he finds two or more ways a certain story can go, and I believe some of the stories mentioned are examples of this. He's done it before (no spoilers) and can pull it off well enough that the similarities usually don't matter.
This is apparently Hindle’s fourth published book and it can be safely placed in the cosy mystery genre, although two or three four letter words creep in at the climax.
Agatha Christie style tropes abound - isolated group of people - someone found dead - is it an accident - is it a murder - fear sets in when someone else also dies. An aspiring travel blogger is invited aboard a luxury airship flying to the North Pole. A passenger is found dead in their cabin…what happened.
Hindle describes the wintry conditions in Longyearbyen, Norway, very well and when the airship arrives to pick up the passengers it’s very vivid. Each passenger and crew member is given a backstory and it’s halfway through the novel before the dead passenger is revealed. This was when I (correctly) guessed who did the murder. But there were enough twists and turns following to make me doubt my assumption.
Hindle has been compared to Christie and Horowitz, he certainly isn’t in that class, but his prose is easy to read and it’s a very entertaining novel. I would have no problem searching out more of his output.
The first commercial airship is due to start operating next year, I’m not sure I would go on one, even if I could afford it.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Comments
Sinatra - Behind the Legend by J Randy Taraborrelli.
Some months after my father died I thought I'd read a Sinatra bio as some kind of tribute. Dad was a Sinatra fan and growing up in Chichester during the war, the US troops stationed there teased him about his resemblance to the then young singer. Dad lives with us in the family home until he died - after our experience with Surrey care homes via our mother there was no way we'd let him go into one - and I gradually bought a whole load of Sinatra albums from second-hand shops over the years.
Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of Sinatra's life would notice the drawbacks of reading a bio with this intention - short, fiery of temper, Sagittarian, not particularly faithful - and I suppose the gag is you could say the same of Sinatra too.
Taraborrelli's book doesn't have wonderful prose - perhaps for that you'd be seeking out the two volumes by James Kaplan. You don't get transported back to former eras, the flavours, the smells, the fashions of yesteryear. It isn't the Last Train to Memphis treatment Elvis got from Peter Guralnick. It has no interest in upselling or sensationalising Sinatra's gangster links or exploring GoodFellas territory - for that, you might read Ratpack Confidential by Shawn Levy. And as the writer enjoys good relations with Sinatra's family - notably his daughters Tina and Nancy - it's not going to be a muck-raking expose of the Kitty Kelly nature either.
The prose is chatty and initially grates almost. He talks you through it. It's clear he has no wish to offend, and often quotes of conversations from the likes of Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr are phrased 'according to his memory of the conversation' as it the ghost of Sinatra might rise from the grave and thump the writer. Then you realise the first draft was written while Sinatra was alive, and this one was updated years later when dirtier secrets could be aired, but some of the earlier stylings remain. It's a little unclear which sections were added later though the postcript probably clarifies.
What is notable is despite all this the writer doesn't soft soap Sinatra at all and he still often comes across as a ratbag, a man easier to admire than to like as one reviewer puts in on Amazon. It's unfair, in that we are told of one band member who fell out with him, but later the singer gifted him a huge amount of money to set him up but while this is mentioned, it's one short paragraph or couple of lines, it would have meant a lot to the recipient - life-changing - but it's glossed over here.
It's a long book - over 500 pages - but Sinatra lived a long life too.
The sagas of Betty Becall - summarily dumped and 'ghosted' though the term wasn't around back then, President Kennedy - who in turn ghosted Sinatra after his help getting him into the White House; Sinatra took this with his usual good grace, vandalising the Beverly Hills pad he'd build and furnished for the no longer visiting Kennedy, plus his dalliance with Marilyn Monroe, all are covered entertainingly here. Murkier associations regarding Monroe's death are glossed over or ignored - for that try out Bombshell - the Night Bobby Kennedy Killed Marilyn Monroe by Douglas Thompson and Mike Rothmiller. I suppose a book like Taraborrelli's does allow you the chance of enjoying Sinatra's music after reading it, but all the same, he comes across as a kind of Trump like figure, the John Wayne type, who makes a fine friend but an wholly petty, vindictive and often unnecessary enemy. His interaction with Mia Farrow reads well - again, she gets ghosted when she needs to finish her movie, though as she didn't demand alimony it's said they stayed on good terms; exactly how it isn't made clear, in terms of did they ever meet up for drinks again? The gag about Ronan Farrow being Sinatra's son - to be fair, he also looks like his mother - deflected by the Catch and Kill author jesting on Twitter 'Let's face it, we're all possibly Sinatra's son...'
It is an odd thing reading about the likes of Peter Sellers, John Lennon and now Sinatra, that blokes who often treated women very badly wound up married to the mother of all witches whose sole strategy seems to be to alienate their man against any children from a former marriage and disinherit said children, cutting them of of the will if possible. In the same way a person can mull over grievances inflicted on them as kids, and in a wholly separate compartment, rue the cruel slights and nastiness they meted out to others over the same time frame, it is easy for the fan not not realise that their heroes probably deserved what they got in their final capitulation, even if their kids didn't.
Barbara Marx doesn't seem as bad as some of them but you'd have to keep an eye on her. She tried to get Frank to adopt her son from a previous marriage. Her son at the time was 25! You get the same sense of stress a family have dealing with all that, and in the end daughter Nancy coolly nixed it in one telephone call. The author does his best but drily notes that Sinatra's new wife had tried to get her former husband Zeppo Marx to adopt her son too, she had form on this, even though Zeppo didn't care for her son much, it seems.
There isn't much sense that Sinatra's only son Frank Jnr had much to contribute directly in the way of interviews, there's no sense he had a beef with his mother-in-law, it's like he kept out of it.
In a chapter devoted to an evening Barbara puts on as hostess at their Palm Springs abode, with dinner formally served and a movie shown to guests, the author is a master of his game. She doesn't put a foot wrong, you can't fault her, it's just - by the end of it, you just hate her. She comes across as one of those quintassentially awful American wives, like Angela Lansbury in The Manchurian Candidate. Or am I being sexist, or anti-American? Yet it's clear this is the author's view too, you later read about the house being bugged when Sinatra's daughters visit. That said, what kind of woman would endure a marriage to Sinatra? But it did seem she alienated his long-term manager who quit, reading between the lines, because of her conduct. Not that, you sense, Frank needed too much encouragement in ditching folk who reminded him of the past.
In truth, this section while well-written turns into a family melodrama but it continues to note Sinatra's concerts - he really did keep on going, and Barbel who caught him in Scotland while he was on an upswing might be interested to read about the star's up and down performances around that time. But the author isn't a music critic nor quite a film critic, in fact Sinatra just had too big a life to be put in one book. Do you judge a man by the company he keeps, his personal life or his working output? Rather too much praise is lavished on some of his later work - you can listen to them on YouTube of course and hear for yourself.
It also charts the doomed comeback concert with Davis Jr and Dean Martin, where the latter dropped out, not really being able to get over the death of his son in a plane crash and not living up to Sinatra's performance expectations; he was replaced by Liza Minnelli so the tour could go on. By this time you get the feeling Sinatra is sort of running on empty or on fumes at least while others nonetheless fall by the wayside; he did outlive most of his other pals.
If you start reading some of these chapters late at night you will find it is 1am when you next look up, it is compulsive reading and all the more damning to Frank Sinatra for aiming to be fair.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Good review. I've stopped reading. I've stopped watching movies, pretty much. Like Sinatra, although I am not his age, I am running on empty. The mojo has baulked.
What are you on about, you saw Strip Poker the other day. And The Killing Fields. While The Vampires Night Orgy is on TPTV right now - lousy music though, we'll expect your review tomorrow.
In truth, @chrisno1 you do seem to be watching some depressing movies these days, I wouldn't get into the habit of that, I did it years ago when I joined a DVD rental service called Lovefilm, they sent them out in the post, you get on the treadmill. There's a tendency to watch worthy movies and tick them off the list, it's no way to enjoy leisure time.
Join a gym and do interval training on another kind of treadmill - I did it last week and it has really pepped me up, not kidding.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
No, avoid physical activity and mainstream culture at all cost! It's about your honour and identity as a nerd. 🤓
Nice review, NP. I won’t be reading this one; as with Fleming, I've read enough Sinatra biographies.
Yes indeed, I did see him back in the day and he was superb. I don't have just my memory to rely on there, having a bootleg of the concert which somehow came into my hands.
I do know there was no love between Frank's children and Barbara, that being more or less public knowledge. And like you I had a good laugh over the Ronan Farrow bit you mention.
What year was that Barbel, and which venue, do you recall?
It's odd how his voice had its ups and downs over the decades, I sort of compare it to Paul McCartney though really he has been on a largely downward trajectory - at least Lulu talked recently of resting her voice during the day of a performance, as has Rod Stewart, I'm not sure Macca bothers to do that.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
1990, at Ibrox Stadium. The only way to get me into a football stadium.
Yes, his voice did have its ups and downs which over such a long career is only to be expected. Funny thing, when I was young I preferred Sinatra's older voice (New York New York, Mack The Knife, Let Me Try Again) and nowadays I prefer his young voice (All Or Nothing At All, I'll Never Smile Again, Saturday Night).
I don't have many regrets in life, but I was visiting my Dad in Polmont in 1990 and had seen the concert advertised. I rashly suggested we went to see him, as there appeared to be tickets available - but Dad didn't want to make the trip and be disappointed. Later on, in the Black Bull his mate Gordon comes in full of the joys - he had just been to see Sinatra at Ibrox Stadium - bought a ticket on the turnstiles for half price. I kept sheepishly quiet.
WINNER TAKES ALL by Michael Winner.
Controversial film director and restaurant critic Michael Winner tells the story of his life in an absorbing autobiography. He’s a bit full of himself, but he is a genuine English eccentric, and they are something missing from society nowadays. It seems there are few famous actors, actresses and notable people that he hasn’t either worked with, or met at various functions. His recollections are both humorous and poignant. A fascinating insight into an unfairly critically dismissed director.
HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE – J. K. Rowling (1997)
Well, Harry Potter doesn’t need any introductions, really. Suffice to say, I have never read one of Rowling’s novels, not ever. I picked this one up for free off the book shlef in the hotel atrium on my recent holiday. I replaced it before I left. I wasn’t very impressed with the standard of Rowling's writing, although I understand of course the readership she is aiming at is not my demographic. Harry Potter #1 is remarkably plain, tinged with sudden moments of extravagance that make you nod wisely and makes one think of the films, which do a sterling job of recreating Rowling’s wizardry world.
In fact, it’s the world of witchcraft and wizards and childish fantasy which would draw a younger reader in, harking back to the traditional literatures of fireside stories, Grimm Tales and Arthurian legends. There are fantastic happenings, but none of it feels too magnificent to overpower the central story, which for the most part is a Tom Brown’s School Days update of bullies and comforting teachers. There isn’t much of genuine insight, psychological or otherwise, and the novel feels padded at [for Rowling] a short length of 329 pages. I remember reading that Rowling’s agent was excited by the chapter The Mirror of Erised, which he felt was so magical it would touch the heart of children and adults everywhere. I must have an untouchable heart. The plot, easily forgettable, is slow to develop – it does evolve over a whole school year – and we don’t care very much about it. The challenges the young hero faces do not seem very threatening under Rowling’s prose, even when they involve life-and-death situations. The resolution is so silly – basically, Harry Potter’s goodness of heart saved him – it makes her hero unbeatable from the off, so why should we care?
Okay, I am an adult reading a kid’s book, but I think children are wise enough to pick that out as well. Would I have read this as an adolescent? Probably not. I was reading James Bond and Wilbur Smith at age 11, tough stories about tough men in realistic worldly peril – why would I care about a spectacled wizard living in a fantasy castle? I think modern children need to grow up some more. Rowling and her imitators have not done them any favours and the proliferation of fantasy or comic book novels, graphic novels and movies bears this out. This semblance of reality seems to be missing from so much media, replaced by a kind of superhero violence and impossible wonder, that it is creeping into actual reality, with technologies such as AI not aiding the need for honest representation of people, places and happenings. That’s getting off the point a little, but I do feel the fantasy genre has veered too far away from its people and their personalities and experiences, preferring the ‘creatures’ or human legends and their ridiculous other worldly antics. I am sure there is mature sci-fi and fantasy out there, for adults and kids, but I am not very certain of saying so.
Disappointing.
Just as an aside, @chrisno1, have you read the Young Bond books and what did you think? I see them as an attempt by the Bond world to capture the Harry Potter market; sometimes the first one or two felt like Hogwarts without the magic. I'm not meaning to criticise them in saying that.
Yes, I have. I understand what you mean, they don't quite feel "real".
https://www.ajb007.co.uk/discussion/51225/bond-continuation-novels-vol-3#latest
There's a link for Vol.2 where the Higson novels are.
Thanks, Chris. There's a lot of good reading there.
NO PLAN B (2022) by Lee Child and Andrew Child.
After the very disappointing last instalment Better Off Dead, it seems as if original author Lee has had a much larger input in this 27th novel of the Jack Reacher series. Reacher witnesses pushing a woman to her death in front of a moving bus, another witness claims it was clearly suicide. Reacher begins to investigate and finds himself centre of an elaborate and highly dangerous situation involving…well I won’t spoil the plot for those who may read it. Reacher fans will find that the series is back in form, not absolutely top drawer Reacher, but a decent effort.
THE OUTSIDER – Albert Camus (1942)
Albert Camus’s famous story of the nonconformist Meursault and his downfall in pre-war Algeria is packed full of painful emotional insights and slanted by a political agenda which sits uneasily beside the open-and-shut murder case that frames the story. Camus isn’t interested in justice, so much as perceived justice. He pokes fun at the law, certainly, and you sense his character’s frustration with both the system – slow and heartless and based on an idea of Catholic morality – as well as the contradictory basic amorality of it – where facts, words and actions are twisted to suit a narrative rather than reflect their actual intent. Camus sets his lead character up as a sacrificial lamb to the guillotine of slaughter, exemplified by his Christlike exclamation: “I opened myself to the tender indifference of the world… So that it might be finished, so that I might feel less alone, I could only hope there would be many, many spectators… and they would greet me with cries of hatred.”
Are we interested in Camus’s politics? Not very. What really intrigues are the stark examples of daily life in Algiers. The laziness of it. The funeral rites. The lolling days. The idle swimming. The rocky beaches. The odd neighbourhood. The old man who misses his dog. The beautiful typist Marie who is smitten by Meursault, shares his bed, but never understands him. The despicable prison atmospheres. The heat and dust of the sun, which never leaves the narrative for a moment, watching – godlike, one assumes – over endless days. Camus writes of a believable, genuine world, with brevity and preciseness. The Outsider is urgent because of it, full of life because his words convey exactly what he wants us to see, without glitter and glamour, or even dirge and dirt. We see everything through Meursault’s superior, questioning and logical eye and mind. Even his random act of violence, which does not seem to encapsulate his personality, is analysed and fractured to the point it infects the remainder of his behaviours, making his whole character questionable and his actions unusual, when on first reading, they are not.
Camus’s ability to delve inside his character – essentially inside his own emotions and beliefs and transpose them onto the page – is why he is such a revered writer. There is as much certainty as there is blurring; passages of intensity and thrift. Meursault’s attitudes do not endear him to us; he is not particularly likeable; but he is believable. His inevitable downfall comes eventually as a relief, as much to us as to him, and a final angry confrontation with a priest, an argument about choice and predestination, vindicates his identity: as a man of freewill, even on the point of death.
The Outsider is brilliant, short and jammed full of intense detail and genuine psychological attachments. Recommended.
The next Reacher novel - The Secret - is passable too…I haven’t gotten around to In Too Deep yet…the series was beginning to struggle when Andrew came on board to ‘help’…although I’m not sure how the writing is done now…in past interviews Lee always said he sat at his computer and just typed…he’d not planned anything beforehand 🤷🏻♂️
I haven’t read The Secret, I’m not keen on stories that are set in the past as you know that Reacher can’t be killed. I mean you know he’s not going to be killed in the present day stories but it’s kind of different, there’s always a possibility it could happen. I will get round to In Too Deep at some point, but it’s not high up on my reading list at the moment.
Lately, I am reading the Geheimagent Lennet Youth Novels again (French Original Langelot) about a French Teen Agent working for the French Intelligence Service SNIF. Author is Vladimir Volkoff a.k.a Lieutenant X, who is a former intelligence employee.
Those Books are from the spy craze era of the 1960s, but were written until the 1990s.
Are the Langelot Books known to you in your area?
Can’t say I’ve ever heard of them, Xando.
HOLLY by Stephen King (2023)
I’m a bit behind with my reading, it’s taken two years to get to this one (spending too much time reading the 300+ westerns written by the Piccadilly Cowboys, who I’ve written about on this site before).
This one features private investigator Holly Gibney who began life as a minor character in King’s Bill Hodges trilogy and a novella in the short story book If It Bleeds. In this one she is the lead character and is called in to investigate a missing person and discovers a potential case of serial killings over many years. Once again King is masterful at describing small town America and it’s inhabitants. The mystery is compelling even though the final section is sort of telegraphed early on.
My daughter bought me the next in the series, Never Flinch for Father’s Day, so I will read that after something else.
Don't read my comments on "Never Flinch" till you've read it yourself, I wouldn't want to influence you.
No worries about that, Barbel, I’m never influenced by reviews, the only one that matters is mine 😁
THE SEVENTH FLOOR (2024) by David McCloskey
I like authors who write page turners, those books where you just have to read the next chapter. Unfortunately, McCloskey isn’t one of those authors. A group of present and ex-CIA officers get wind of a Russian mole working out of Langley. Using their resources they attempt to uncover who it is. It’s all done earnestly but, it’s not exciting, it’s not compelling, and worst of all, it becomes boring with obvious stock characters. This is McCloskey’s third novel, it was given to me as a birthday present, I won’t be searching for any more.
Have you read his first two novels then? Damascus Station & Moscow X ? Both have been recommended to me…🤔
No, I haven’t read them, some of the same characters are in the first two, I believe, but the third can be read as a stand alone novel. Obviously my opinion is just that, mine, for me the novel doesn’t have that page turning feeling, I found it stodgy.
"The last wish" by Andrzej Sapkowski
This is the first book the author published in the Witcher series and also the only Witcher book I've read so far. I haven't seen the TV series either. the book is really a collection of short stories. As many of you know the Witcher is a series of books in the fantasy genere, a genere I haven't really read for decades (with the exception of the Harry Potter books). Witchers are monster hunters given training and superhuman abilities for the purpose of killing dangerous creatures.The main character is Geralt of Rivera, played by Henry Cavil in the TV series. I'd say the style is a mix of adventure, action , horror and comedy. From what I understand the author has borrowed from Polish and Slavic folklore, and sometimes from well-known fairy tales. When we recognize something from a fairy tale there is always a gritty and even brutal twist to it. for example "Snow White gets raped by the hunter before he releases her into the forest. The fantasy world of the series is revealed or hinted at very gradually instead of being explained, something I liked. So far I've found the series different enough from other genere entries and thrilling enough to keep reading about Geralt.
YOU LIKE IT DARKER (2024) by Stephen King
King’s latest collection of short stories has some echoes from past novels.
TWO TALENTED BASTIDS…Two friends and business partners encounter an alien on their annual hunting trip in the local woods and their lives are changed forevermore. Very much referencing the themes of Dreamcatcher and The Tommyknockers this tale reminds us that creativity is within is all and only needs something to open it up to inspire us to greater things. 8/10
THE FIFTH STEP…A retired engineer on his daily walk in Central Park meets a stranger on a bench seeking help with his alcoholic rehabilitation. This a slow moving tale which builds to a shocking finale. 7/10
WILLIE THE WEIRDO…Mom, Dad, kids Roxie and Willie and Grampa lead an ordinary family life. Willie is considered a bit of a “weirdo” and he loves listening to Grampa’s tall tales of historical events of centuries ago. A terrific twist ending leaves you wondering why you hadn’t grasped it long before. 8/10
DANNY COUGHLIN’S BAD DREAM…Danny has a bad dream of finding a dead body. It’s so detailed that he goes on a journey to see if it’s true and he indeed finds the dead body. Making an anonymous phone call to report it to the police is his first mistake as he becomes the prime suspect. King revisits familiar themes like in The Outsider in this one but the tale is gripping with Hitchcock like suspense. Terrific. 10/10
FINN…Finn has always been unlucky from the moment of being dropped by the midwife on his birth, but being mistakenly kidnapped because he’s wearing the same clothing as a criminal a gang is pursuing, and being tortured for information he doesn’t know, becomes his worst misfortune. This a bit of a mish-mash with an inconclusive ending. 5/10
ON SLIDE INN ROAD…A family road trip turns into jeopardy when they encounter two ruthless criminals on a lonely road. This a thrilling story which explores family bonds and the resilience of survival. 9/10
RED SCREEN…A hen-pecked police officer interviews a murder suspect and is led into the realms of paranoia by his claims. A strangely uninteresting and ultimately unsatisfying tale. 4/10
THE TURBULENCE EXPERT…What is the power that Craig Dixon has to avert disaster on planes encountering clear-air turbulence? Another tale that is unfortunately less than interesting. 5/10
LAURIE…A widower is gifted a dog by his sister. At first uninterested he becomes attached to his pet and their daily walks ultimately find something lurking and terrifying. The story builds tension slowly but surely and the writing is top-notch as it heads towards the conclusion. 8/10
RATTLESNAKES…Taking a character from the novel Cujo, we jump forward in time 40 years to a retired Vic Trenton (the father in the novel) who is now widowed and is housesitting in a friends abode on Rattlesnake Key. The place has a dark past and when Vic meets an eccentric neighbour things take a sinister and ghostly turn. This a haunting and chilling thriller with atmospheric vivid writing. Superb. 10/10
THE DREAMERS…A young Vietnam veteran tries to escape his inner demons by working as a stenographer to a scientist experimenting with the dark recesses of human consciousness. A Lovecraftian tale with visceral imagery. 7/10
THE ANSWER MAN…In less than 50 pages we get the life story of Phil, a small town lawyer, who encounters The Answer Man who will answer any three questions given to him for 25 dollars, which sets Phil on a journey of introspection. This is a beautiful and heart rendering tale which clamours for a full blown novel. 10/10
THE MUSIC ROOM…A husband and wife have something hidden in the closet. A very short but unnerving tale which perhaps led to the novel Holly. 8/10
Four superb, four excellent, two good and three so-so stories make a book well worth reading.
To discuss something touched on above: King has said that sometimes he finds two or more ways a certain story can go, and I believe some of the stories mentioned are examples of this. He's done it before (no spoilers) and can pull it off well enough that the similarities usually don't matter.
I enjoyed the similarities and references in some of the stories, it makes it part of one universe.
DEATH IN THE ARCTIC by Tom Hindle (2025)
This is apparently Hindle’s fourth published book and it can be safely placed in the cosy mystery genre, although two or three four letter words creep in at the climax.
Agatha Christie style tropes abound - isolated group of people - someone found dead - is it an accident - is it a murder - fear sets in when someone else also dies. An aspiring travel blogger is invited aboard a luxury airship flying to the North Pole. A passenger is found dead in their cabin…what happened.
Hindle describes the wintry conditions in Longyearbyen, Norway, very well and when the airship arrives to pick up the passengers it’s very vivid. Each passenger and crew member is given a backstory and it’s halfway through the novel before the dead passenger is revealed. This was when I (correctly) guessed who did the murder. But there were enough twists and turns following to make me doubt my assumption.
Hindle has been compared to Christie and Horowitz, he certainly isn’t in that class, but his prose is easy to read and it’s a very entertaining novel. I would have no problem searching out more of his output.
The first commercial airship is due to start operating next year, I’m not sure I would go on one, even if I could afford it.