By turns riotous and poignant, Sam Kashner’s Sinatraland introduces a remarkable character, and a talented new writer, to contemporary American fiction.
Sam Kashner’s darkly brilliant first novel tells the story of “Finkie” Finkelstein, businessman from New Jersey, and lovingly obsessed fan of Frank Sinatra. To Finkie, Frank is the model of a man: elegant, sophisticated, talented, with charm to spare. All of Finkle’s decisions, his choice of house (“the largest home in Fort Lee. The real estate agent told me it briefly belonged to Buddy Hacket”), the name of his daughter (Nancy Ava, after Sinatra’s first two wives), are made with Frank in mind. Now if only he could let Frank know how much he means to him...Through a series of unanswered letters to his idol, Finkie’s life unfolds, a life where Sinatra is center stage while all the rest takes a backseat. In Sinatraland, Finkie’s trials are numerous: a failing marriage; a strained relationship with both his daughter and his brother; an ill-fated affair with an office co-worker, but as long as Frank comes out with a new record or film, there's always hope. And indeed, Finkie’s life takes an extraordinary turn when he attends the Chairman’s famed “farewell” concert in 1971, an experience that is proof positive of his belief. “It's a crazy world, Francis, is it not?”"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Sam Kashner teaches writing at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. An acclaimed biographer and poet, he is author of A Talent for Genius: The Life and Times of Oscar Levant, Hollywood Kryptonite and several books of poetry, and has written for numerous publications including GQ and Vanity Fair. He lives in Williamsburg with his wife, the writer Nancy Schoenberger. This is his first novel.
Jonathan Yardley The Washington Post Uncommonly original and engaging...a smart, funny, knowing novel about what it's like to be a certain kind of American man.
Mark Rozzo Los Angeles Times If you were still with us, Frank, you'd sleep the sleep of kings knowing that the art of book writing is safe in [Sam Kashner's] hands.
Robert Taylor The Boston Globe Quirky...intelligent...very funny.
James Ellory Ring-a-ding! Sinatraland is the postmortem on Frank Sinatra. Sam Kashner pokes, probes, dissects, and undermines the myth and takes us on a deep dunk into the sewer of American pop culture. This is an indictment of the Voice and a gorgeously wrought hymn to the finger-popping twentieth-century loser.
Madison Smartt Bell Sam Kashner's first novel is weirder than it sounds, but with wit and charm to match its strangeness. By turns hilarious, perverse, surreal, and genuinely touching, Sinatraland is what one might call an incomparable debut.
Helen Schulman author of The Revisionist Smart, humorous, original, Sam Kashner's Sinatraland deftly explores the peculiarly tragic aspects of an obsession with a celebrity -- the celebrity, Sinatra -- in a moving, romantic, epistolary, tour de force.
Robert Plunket author of My Search for Warren Harding and Love Junkie Regardless of how you feel about Frank Sinatra you will gleefully devour Sinatraland. It's the Old Blue Eyes legend writ small, transferred to the oddly romantic life of "Finkie" Finkelstein. Harrowing, sad, and very funny, it charts the darker and more complex corners of the twentieth-century male psyche.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Shipping:
US$ 4.00
Within U.S.A.
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. 1st. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Seller Inventory # 38871465-6
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: HPB-Ruby, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Seller Inventory # S_376137328
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Irish Booksellers, Portland, ME, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. SHIPS FROM USA. Used books have different signs of use and do not include supplemental materials such as CDs, Dvds, Access Codes, charts or any other extra material. All used books might have various degrees of writing, highliting and wear and tear and possibly be an ex-library with the usual stickers and stamps. Dust Jackets are not guaranteed and when still present, they will have various degrees of tear and damage. All images are Stock Photos, not of the actual item. book. Seller Inventory # 0879519177-R
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Katsumi-san Co., Cambridge, MA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Included. 1st Edition. 192 p. Published at $22.95. [otob: 12L]. Seller Inventory # 203957
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: HPB-Diamond, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Seller Inventory # S_407384953
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Dunaway Books, St. Louis, MO, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First Edition. First edition stated wiht complete number line. Fine in like dustjacket. Seller Inventory # 20110706135132
Quantity: 2 available
Seller: Ammareal, Morangis, France
Hardcover. Condition: Très bon. Ammareal reverse jusqu'à 15% du prix net de ce livre à des organisations caritatives. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION Book Condition: Used, Very good. Ammareal gives back up to 15% of this book's net price to charity organizations. Seller Inventory # C-717-275
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: A Good Read, Toronto, ON, Canada
Hardcover. Condition: USED_FINE. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First Edition. A Good Read ships from Toronto and Niagara Falls, NY - customers outside of North America please allow two to three weeks for delivery. ; 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" Tall. Seller Inventory # 11014
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Irish Booksellers, Portland, ME, U.S.A.
Condition: USED_GOOD. SHIPS FROM USA. Used books have different signs of use and do not include supplemental materials such as CDs, Dvds, Access Codes, charts or any other extra material. All used books might have various degrees of writing, highliting and wear and tear and possibly be an ex-library with the usual stickers and stamps. Dust Jackets are not guaranteed and when still present, they will have various degrees of tear and damage. All images are Stock Photos, not of the actual item. book. Seller Inventory # 44-0879519177-G
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Better World Books Ltd, Dunfermline, United Kingdom
Condition: USED_VERYGOOD. 1st. Ships from the UK. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Seller Inventory # 42699702-6
Quantity: 1 available