Skip to main content

#Review of an Evergreen Bestseller - A Stone for Danny Fisher

A Stone for Danny Fisher is one of those evergreen bestsellers that has wowed readers across several generations. 

Why did I pick this book? For one, I remembered reading it way back when I was in college and being consumed by it! It had made a huge impact on me and I particularly recalled one scene that has remained with me all through the years -- an emotional, gut-wrenching scene involving Danny and his beloved dog, Rexie.

Second, it was one of the first books that introduced me to the genre of "pulp fiction". Harold Robbins was notorious for writing 'trashy books with a lot of sex' but this is not one of them! This is one of his early books -- the depth of emotion and the motivations of Danny Fisher who lived in the times of the Great Depression could rival those of any literary fiction novel.

Third, A Stone... has tremendous nostalgic value for me. I remember discussing this book with my Dad. Somehow, reading it again was like reconnecting with him and reliving those moments.

Here goes my review:

Forty-plus years after I'd first read A Stone..., I found it as compelling a story as I had when I first read it. I could not put the book down until I finished the last page. I was tearing up once more when Danny loses his beloved dog Rexie. I found myself experiencing anguish all over again at the blows that life deals this talented boxer. Danny could have gone on to become a celebrated boxer but instead has to constantly fight poverty. The angsty relationship between Danny and his father is one of the best fictional accounts of father-son relationships. Sarah/Ronnie the prostitute with a golden heart is probably a role model for all those yesteryear movies with similar characters that have graced the celluloid screens of Hollywood as well as Bollywood. The relationship between Danny and Nellie and the ups and down they face is sweet and emotional, heart-wrenching and realistic. And then there is Danny's brother-in-law, Sam - a character with shades of grey who plays a huge role in Danny's life. Set in the age of the Great Depression, the story delivers an emotional punch in the gut after all these years! 

It would make a great movie and strangely enough there has been only one adaptation of the book -- the 1958 movie starring Elvis Presley, King Creole.

If you have read the book, do read it again and if you haven't, don't miss it!

Comments

  1. Nice review and it sounds interesting. That book is special if you can re-read it and still enjoy {I rarely re-read books}. Also when you feel like discussing it with someone. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, indeed. Thanks for reading the review, Tarang. :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Basu Chatterji's "Balcony Class" Films

Basu Chatterji's Rajnigandha was like a breath of fresh air in the 1970s film universe of Bombay. At a time when the Angry Young Man was beginning to dominate celluloid screens, Amol Palekar was as un-hero-like as you could get. He was the Common Man who traveled in buses, did not have hero-like mannerisms and did not breathe fire and brimstone at his opponents. Basu Chatterji's Middle of the Road Cinema burst on to the scene and surprised the movie-going audience with its everyday situations and storylines that had an undercurrent of humour. Chatterji catered to an audience that he liked to call the "Balcony Class".  Anirudha Bhattacharjee, author of Basu Chatterji and Middle-of-the-Road Cinema writes an entertaining and heartwarming account of the life and work of Basu Chatterji, one of the most under-rated directors of Indian cinema. Recall of Chatterji's brand of feel-good, slice-of-life movies is perhaps highest for his Rajnigandha, Chotisi Baat, Baaton Baa...

Marching in the Dark - a true story of grit and resilience

  "Nothing can dim the light that shines from within." I was reminded of this quote by Mary Angelou as I watched Kinshuk Surjan's documentary feature film titled "Marching in the Dark" . The film is an evocative tribute to the widows of Marathwada who have survived the suicides of their husbands - the men driven to despair and eventually death after years of failing harvests, rising debts and the cruel play of climate change.  Surjan introduces us to Sanjeevani, an every woman who is not anyone's idea of a hero. If anything she is a victim - of her circumstances, of the unfair deal that she has got in life and of a male-oriented world that she is part of. But she has a quiet strength to her that is evident from the first time we meet her. She is grappling with grief and the burden of raising two small children after the suicide of her husband. She is a breadwinner as well as a homemaker. She works in her brother-in-law's farm who has given her family sh...

Facing my fear - one Pitch at a time

Pitching makes me freeze up. In fact, the very thought of it makes me wanna run away.  For a screenwriter that's simply bad news. Because no matter what, if you want to get your stories out of your computer and hit the big screens, then you need to get comfortable with selling your story to potential producers and studios. And the first step in that journey is pitching.  My fear of pitching has prodded me to find different ways of overcoming the hurdle. So, for a few years I tried to work with agents in the hope that they would read my book and be able to handle the job of pitching. But soon I realized that agents were not into reading. So, I was just another name in their long list of clients. How that helps them grow their business is a different story, and one that I will perhaps share at a later point when I get around to solving that mystery! But the turning point (life does imitate screenplays!) came when I was called to pitch my book to a prominent OTT channel. This was...