proeditor's Full Review: Larry Baker - The Flamingo Rising: A Novel
Give me a novel with endearing, eccentric characters and an interesting story, preferably written in first person. Throw in some laughs and weepy bits . . . and a beach. Mix in a little introspection. You’ll have me hooked. Then trying to write an Epinion to explain why I liked the book so much. (What a thorny task!) A plot summary won’t really work; it makes the book sound trite. And how in the world does one describe these quirky, yet normal folks, when the author so masterfully draws their characters? Quirky, yet normal? How DOES he do that? My Epinion pales in comparison.
I re-write my earlier, sad attempt to review Larry Baker’s The Flamingo Rising and re-post it here as part of “The E-Prime of Life: A Writer’s Write-Off.”
Call me a pig in slop – the book made me that happy. From the beginning, a boy—now adult looking back—captures us with his tale:
“My name is Abraham Isaac Lee, and I am my father's son. This is a story about Land and Love and a Great Fire that consumed my father's dreams.”
Abraham narrates the 1960's coming-of-age story about a very decent kid (himself) and his unusual family. In the author’s own words, "What you have is Abraham, this narrator sort of sitting in this booth talking through a screen to the unseen priest/reader. Sort of a 'forgive me reader for I have sinned but I'm not going to tell you what I did right away.' And slowly it begins to come out." (Larry Baker interview at http://www.gc-magazine.com/actress/flamingo.html)
Abraham’s family consists of a larger-than-life, southern-born father (Hubert), a mother of quiet strength, and two Korean-born adopted children: Abraham and his sexy, cynical sister Louise. They live in a fantastic home attached to Hubert’s giant drive-in theater on the coast of Florida, near St. Augustine. Ironically (and central to the story), a funeral home sits right next door. Though a bit predictable, a sweet romance develops between Abraham and the daughter of the funeral home director. A modern-day feud boils between their fathers, not so much related to the children’s relationship as to an old bitterness exasperated by Hubert’s insistence of playing loud music and showing movies that, one might say, “detract” from the solemn mood next door.
Like all good stories of this genre, The Flamingo Rising captures the often poignant reality of growing up (including hilarious tales of discovering the opposite sex). Sprinkled throughout, you’ll find a midget, a crazy dog, a trick pilot who can't drive a car and a dead woman in the drive-in’s bathroom. It all adds up to a witty, yet touching tale, masterfully written. Baker makes the idiosyncrasies work, because he creates sincere characters whose motivations make sense. Critics have compared Baker to John Irving, and I find some truth in that. You’ll discover in The Flamingo Rising the same type of slightly odd, but believable plot and humor mixed with poignancy as you find in Irving’s books.
Like an Irving novel, the bizarre events unfolding throughout The Flamingo Rising defy summarizing. However, if you don’t like bizarre, don’t let that turn you off. The author surely remembers his own adolescence and thus describes those feelings with such accuracy that this, his first novel, reads like a memoir—a story of dreams, lust, love and loss written in an honest, lighthearted voice.
To me, drive-ins very much epitomize the 60s, so the book’s setting gave rise to nostalgic memories of the times, right down to that feeling of wearing my jammies in the car and having my dad carry me to bed when we got home. And since Baker himself operated a drive-in theater and borrows real events for the book, The Flamingo Rising, for all its eccentricities, rings true.
It worked for me anyway. As the only Epinions reviewer of The Flamingo Rising so far and with only a few hits on my earlier review, I hope this new posting will help others discover and enjoy this clever book as much as I did.
About “The E-Prime of Life: A Writer’s Write-Off”
I challenged Epinions writers to write an entire review without using any “to be” verbs, a discipline known as E-Prime. We participants strove to enliven our writing and increase our precision by using exactly the right verb instead of the tried and true (but ordinary) “to be’s”. Those include “be, is, am, are, was, were, been, being;” plus contractions: “’m, ’s, and ’re.” If you found any in this review (other than in the quotes), please leave me a comment.
Don't forget to read the contributions of the other participants: nfp (write-off "dedicatee"-Happy 50th Birthday, Nick), infoscott (webmaster), tlimjoco, eplovejoy, GinaHill, epicure, wovengold, pageclot, hhassell99, teskue, magenta321, LEDOMAINE, lernerj, DrDad, Howard_U, jankp, nylawgirl, amykhar, zzJulia, dequebec
and mike24 (Sloucho got busy at the last minute, but might join us later, right Sloucho?). You can find easy links to all the write-off entries at http://eprimewriteoff.tripod.com
Notes:
I just discovered that The Flamingo Rising made its television debut in a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie in February 2001. Larry Baker did not write the screenplay.
I cannot find evidence that Baker has written any other novels.
FYI, my original review (not in E-Prime) follows:
You will laugh, and you will cry. This book has all the elements I like in a book: lovable, quirky characters; slightly odd, but believable plot; humor mixed with poignancy.
You will love the characters’ idiosyncrasies, because the characters are sincere and their motivation makes sense. I can’t even begin to summarize the plot, because summarized, it would sound just too bizarre. However, if you don’t like bizarre, don’t be turned off. This is a witty, touching book--basically a 1960's coming of age story about a very decent kid and his unusual family. The story is narrated by the boy, now an adult looking back. He and his family live in a fantastic home attached to his father's giant drive-in theater on the coast of Florida. Ironically (and central to the story), a funeral home sits right next door. See, I told you it would sound strange . . .
The author surely remembers his own adolescence and thus describes those feelings with such accuracy that this, his first novel, reads like a memoir. Baker has been compared to John Irving, and there is some truth to that. This is a story of dreams, lust, love and loss written in an honest, lighthearted voice. In her review in the Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Review, Celia McGee writes, "WONDROUS . . . HUMOROUS AND HEARTACHING . . . ONE OF THE MOST ENDEARINGLY ADEPT DEBUTS TO COME ALONG IN A WHILE."
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