As promised, here is the essay on my brother John's novel Better for the Los Angeles Times: "Clues in John O'Brien's Better."For any new readers looking for more on John, I offer some of my in-depth writing on my brother and his work and an associated blog entry with additional pictures and links. Thanks for dropping in.
Confidential to the city of Los Angeles: Thank you for being you. You give good visit. Also, many thanks for not quaking the earth beneath yourself during my visit. One last thing--and you're probably not going to like this--but the people in your airport look a whole lot like the people in the Cleveland Airport.
7 comments:
Right...Los Angeles...Cleveland...what's the difference??
Let's see how many people THAT annoys (on both sides) !!! :)
i loved the essay in the LA times. like someone somewhere else said, thanks for your stewardship.
Erin, I've been tempted to communicate this to you since I started reading your writings on your brother.
I've faced a lot of the issues you discuss myself. Family history of alcoholism, suicidal depression, creative compulsions, etc, etc.
This is why I really appreciate your blog and columns taken as a whole. You show are open and honest about the shadow, and at the same time demonstrate a strong and vital sense of the fundamental worth of life.
Reading your work makes me feel encouraged. A little stronger. Thank you very much.
Re: Cleveland look vs. LA look;
Oh, no you dih'int!
Scene: Monday morning;
Phones ringing off the hook at the LA snip and tuck clinics. Gyms are packed.
Meanwhile, Clevelanders rise early, order a side of perogies with breakfast and relax.
My left arm is nicely tanned, ahh... summertime.
I often hear people referring to Los Angeles as "La La Land." And yes, there are pockets of that, but for the most part, it's just a mix of everyday people. Really!
I've never been to Cleveland, but I'm guessing Erin is right. People look the same pretty much anywhere you go.
DDP,
I confess my ignorance about LA is in part from never having been there, and mostly from forming an opinion from the boob tube/ cinema. LA has occupied that place in American mainstream mythology in the latter half of the 20th century that NYC held in the first.
I have, for instance, never found New Yorkers to be unfriendly, just in a huge hurry.
However, the LA depicted in "Repo Man" is iconic to me, and I don't want to believe otherwise.
NYC is exactly like "Metropolis".
super stuff.
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