The Hollywood Dodo

Used
Paperback
2004
$5.55

Following the death of his wife, Henry Cadwallader, an English doctor, insists on accompanying his aspiring actress daughter, Dorothy, on a trip to Hollywood. He fears she will fall prey to corruption and sleaze, but finds that it is actually he who is being corrupted, at every turn. On the flight to LA, they meet ?auteur of the future?, Rick McCartney. Rick?s trying to get the backing to make a costume drama set in 17th century England about a man who owns what he fears is the last dodo on earth. Dorothy Cadwallader?s quest for fame begins badly and goes downhill from there. Meanwhile Henry becomes involved with a former porn actress turned estate agent. The lives of Henry and Dorothy once again intersect with that of Rick McCartney, to dramatic effect as the characters find themselves drawn to the brink, where dreams die and extinction threatens.

Synopsis

Following the death of his wife, Henry Cadwallader, an English doctor, insists on accompanying his aspiring actress daughter, Dorothy, on a trip to Hollywood. He fears she will fall prey to corruption and sleaze, but finds that it is actually he who is being corrupted, at every turn. On the flight to LA, they meet ?auteur of the future?, Rick McCartney. Rick?s trying to get the backing to make a costume drama set in 17th century England about a man who owns what he fears is the last dodo on earth. Dorothy Cadwallader?s quest for fame begins badly and goes downhill from there. Meanwhile Henry becomes involved with a former porn actress turned estate agent. The lives of Henry and Dorothy once again intersect with that of Rick McCartney, to dramatic effect as the characters find themselves drawn to the brink, where dreams die and extinction threatens.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 288
Publisher: Serpent's Tail
Published: 06 May 2004
ISBN 10: 1852428457
ISBN 13: 9781852428457
Book Overview: Geoff Nicholson is also the author of Bleeding London , Female Ruins and Bedlam Burning .

Media Reviews

A counter-cultural puzzle constructed with wit, sleight of hand and dazzle... satire without terminal melancholy. Here is the dark London of deep memory, the viral light of Los Angeles * cancelled future. Prose frolics across the retina. Shut your eyes and enjoy the flight *
' Iain Sinclair, author of London Orbital ?One of our zaniest and most original comic novelists? Sunday Times ?A fascinating oddball novel? in turns funny, a little poignant and hugely entertaining? Four-star review, Big Issue in the North ?It steers well clear of clich? and you can?t fault Nicholson?s originality and invention? The Crack ?[A] superb novel, which is choked with coincidence but relieved of contrivance by its slick, tongue-in-cheek plotting. Plain weirdness segues into historical gravity and back into delicious farce? Independent ?The sublimely good Geoff Nicholson?s new novel is an absolute treat? elegant, exceptional novel? Scotland on Sunday ?Black comedy, film, and history intertwine to offer a lively original read? Good Book Guide ?He?s a great mapmaker, portraying with equal assurance the worlds of restoration London, Hollywood and embittered but charmingly self-deprecating souls? Independent on Sunday ?It?s an odd novel this one? Somehow, it works deliciously? Herald

Author Bio

Geoff Nicholson was born in Sheffield and educated at Cambridge University. He worked as a bookseller before becoming a writer and has since written fourteen novels and two works of non-fiction. His novel Street Sleeper was shortlisted for the Yorkshire Post First Work Award and Bleeding London was shortlisted for the Whitbread Prize. He now lives in Los Angeles.