Ray Bradbury, the undisputed Dean of American storytelling, dips his accomplished pen into the cryptic inkwell of noir and creates a stylish and slightly fantastical tale of mayhem and murder set among the shadows and the murky canals of Venice, California, in the early 1950s.
Toiling away amid the looming palm trees and decaying bungalows, a struggling young writer (who bears a resemblance to the author) spins fantastic stories from his fertile imagination upon his clacking typewriter. Trying not to miss his girlfriend (away studying in Mexico), the nameless writer steadily crafts his literary effort--until strange things begin happening around him.
Starting with a series of peculiar phone calls, the writer then finds clumps of seaweed on his doorstep. But as the incidents escalate, his friends fall victim to a series of mysterious "accidents"--some of them fatal. Aided by Elmo Crumley, a savvy, street-smart detective, and a reclusive actress of yesteryear with an intense hunger for life, the wordsmith sets out to find the connection between the bizarre events, and in doing so, uncovers the truth about his own creative abilities.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
But now it's the early 1950s, and foggy, shabby Venice is the last stop on the circus train for scores of old silent-movie stars and young writers trying to keep their art and their bodies alive. As Bradbury's autobiographical hero, a young writer, pounds out his short stories, someone is killing off the older denizens of the tacky city. The writer joins forces with a quirky detective called Elmo Crumley and a faded screen star to investigates the deaths. Their search begins and ends in one of those iconic, waterlogged cages.
Blending hard-boiled detective fiction with beautiful descriptions of this strange Californian town, Death Is a Lonely Business is well worth investigating. --Dick Adler
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Book Description Hardback. Condition: Very Good. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR003816195
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. The jacket is a bit shelf rubbed and marked.One previous owners inscription.Some tanning.Well bound.Ek. Our orders are shipped using tracked courier delivery services. Seller Inventory # hk86
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition UK. UK first edition hard cover, with unclipped dust jacket, both in very good condition. Jacket illustrated by James Marsh. Light shelf and handling wear including minor creasing to DJ edges and corners, and notable tanning to page block, leading into pages. Boards are very clean, pages well bound, and content clear and unmarked. CN. Used. Seller Inventory # 540388
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. First UK edition. First printing. A near fine copy with owner name on the front endpaper in a fine DJ , now protected in archival mylar. See my photos of the book you will receive, not stock photos. All books are wrapped in bubble wrap and shipped in a cardboard box. USPS tracking provided. #133. Seller Inventory # 014953
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Like New. Dust Jacket Condition: Like New. First British Edition. Publisher: Grafton Books, London, 1986. FINE hardcover book in FINE mylar-protected, price-clipped dust-jacket. As new. Unread. First British Edition, First Printing. Seller Inventory # 2210090040
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 1st edition, 1986. Original pictorial dustjacket VG, protected in a clear plastic sleeve. Blue cloth very clean. An ex-library copy with 3 stamps. Pages a little age-browned. No inscriptions. 239 pages. This was the author's first novel for 23 years. Seller Inventory # ABE-13049013740
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 1st edition. Pages browning, all edges slightly rubbed, VG in VG dustwrapper. Ray Bradbury, the undisputed Dean of American storytelling, dips his accomplished pen into the cryptic inkwell of noir and creates a stylish and slightly fantastical tale of mayhem and murder set among the shadows and the murky canals of Venice, California, in the early 1950s. Seller Inventory # 240339