Arts & Entertainment
Detroit Backdrop
New books share a Motor City influence.
Suzanne Chessler
Special to the Jewish News
E
xperiences in the Detroit Jewish
community enter into the plot
lines of six new novels, all very
different, by people who have made their
homes in the area. The books are available
on the Web through title searches that lead
to on-line sellers.
Susan Messer, a suburban Chicago resi-
dent who grew up in northwest Detroit,
recalls the 1960s in the neighborhood of
her youth through Grand River and Joy
(University of Michigan Press; $24). Her
characters live out the tensions leading up
to the 1967 riots.
"The book is about intersections,
including those of race and class," says
Messer, 60ish, an editor and award-win-
ning writer of fiction and non-fiction
work.
"I remember, as a young girl, hearing
someone say Jews and blacks were minori-
ties and thinking that the person was
misinformed because those were the only
people I saw.
"When my daughter started going to
high school in an area that had a wide
socioeconomic range similar to the one I
had known, I started thinking again about
the issues and the potential of a novel that
could explore them."
Messer, whose family was active with
Congregation Beth Abraham and the
Jewish Community Center, follows the
family of a small business owner con-
fronted by anti-Semitism. Her father had
owned a small business.
The University of Michigan
graduate has developed a Web site
(www.susanmessernet) for the book
and provides an excerpt.
Robert Tell, of Farmington Hills, brings
the Detroit area and biblical references
into his science fiction adventure, Thirsty
Planet (YouWriteOn.com; S11.99), which
crosses centuries as it focuses on global
warming.
The book moves through dramas of
crime, romance and hope.
"The novel shows how a climate disaster
would affect the Detroit area," says Tell, 72,
a retired hospital administrator who also
has written a memoir, Dementia Diary,
about being a caregiver. "I hope readers
will find page-turning suspense as well as
an educational read."
Tell, who has been active with the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit
and JVS, got the idea for the novel about
10 years ago, after reading an article about
the impact of business practices on saving
the planet.
The book, published with the support of
a grant from Arts Council England, uses
the allegory of the Exodus. For instance,
Moss Leder, the main character, is based
on Moses as leader.
"I think the allegory adds to the plot,
but readers who miss that will not have
anything taken away from the storyline,"
says Tell, also a writer of articles and poet-
ry with a Web site, www.bobtell.com .
Jeannie Weiner, active with many local
Jewish organizations, draws upon her
experiences growing up in New Mexico
and moving to Michigan for Santa Fe
Sister (iUniverse; $16.95).
Weiner's first novel follows free-
lance writing projects, most recently in
the anthology It's Worth the Struggle,
Inspiration for Contemporary Writers.
"The book is about the struggle
between a strong-willed, giving woman
and her immigrant father," says Weiner, 62,
of West Bloomfield. "The daughter's rebel-
lion launches her into experiences involv-
ing religion and race and a battle between
her dreams and his will."
Weiner, who has been active with the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit,
the Jewish Community Relations Council
and Hillel of Metro Detroit, began the
book to take on a more ambitious writing
project and to respond to questions about
her Southwest background.
"The novel holds a message about rela-
tionships for families," says Weiner, who
earned a degree in education from the
University of New Mexico. "It explores how
secrets can affect families and shows the
fragility of adolescents."
Details about Weiner, the book and
speaking engagements can be found at
WWW. s ant afe siste r. co m
Norman Prady's characters seem to
introduce themselves into his imagina-
tion as did the title character in his short
novel, Isabella (Aberdeen Bay; $14.95).
This central person also introduces her-
self to readers by taking on the function
of narrator.
Isabella, who comes across as young
and beautiful, was raised in northern
Michigan before finding big-city work and
an intense relationship with an influential
suitor. She tells about her experiences
and feelings linked to him and the others
entering her life in the author's first pub-
lished novel.
"This is a Jewish character from a part
of the state I know," says Prady, 75, of
Berkley. "She wants a fulfilling life but
meets up with a very unexpected turn of
events."
Prady's writing interests, which
appeared when he was a youngster, have
placed him in newspaper and advertising
work. He also has had his own editorial
and creative services company.
"I sit at the keyboard and meet people:'
says Prady, who established the Oxford
Writers Group and teaches creative nonfic-
tion writing. "I think the writer's work is
to say for other persons what they can't or
won't say for themselves:'
Prady, who is exploring possibilities of
turning the novel into a film, continues
with various types of writing projects.
Jews
Nate Bloom
Blaine and musician Kanye West.
Special to the Jewish News
Call me an old-fashioned relic of
the Cold War, but I like sci-fi mov-
ies about a post-apocalyptic world
in which humans have to fight evil
mutants for control of the planet.
If you're like me, you might check
out The Mutant Chronicles, airing
9 p.m. Saturday, June 27, on the
Sci-Fi cable channel, with a repeat
on Sunday, June 28, at 6:30 p.m.
Actually, this semi-horror film was
shown in a few movie theaters last
year, but hardly anyone saw it. It'll
hit DVD soon.
The cast is good: Thomas Jane,
John Malkovich and Ron Perlman,
59. Perlman plays Samuel, a proph-
et-like figure who recruits human
warriors to fight the mutants. I
guess, for Perlman, it's a change of
TV Specials
TBS cable is premiering two specials
this weekend.
Martin Short hosts
Let Freedom Hum
10 p.m. Friday, June
26. Short's special
features four lesser-
known but funny
stand-up comics. One
is Jeremy Hotz, 43,
a South African-born
Jeremy Hotz
Canadian comic who
is very popular in Toronto.
Comedian Ellen DeGeneres hosts
Ellen's Bigger, Longer and Wider
Show 9 p.m. Saturday, June 27.
Her guests include magician David
C4
June 25 z 2009
pace to be human in a sci-fi
film. He played the Beast
in the TV series Beauty
and the Beast and the son
of the devil in the Hellboy
movies.
New Flicks
Shia Labeouf, 23, reprises
his role as the hero in Transformers:
Revenge of the Fallen, which opened
Wednesday, June 24. The film is
a sequel to the 2007 mega-hit
Transformers. As in the original, spe-
cial effects are the main attraction
of this fantasy, sci-fi flick.
Cheri, opening Friday, June 26,
stars Michelle Pfeiffer, 50, in a May-
December romance that takes place
in early-20th-century Paris. Lea
(Pfeiffer) is considering retirement
from her position as the most
famous seductress/courte-
san of the rich and famous.
Before making her decision,
she is approached by a former
courtesan and rival, played by
Kathy Bates (Madame Peloux),
who asks Lea to teach
Peloux's 19-year-old son
(Rupert Friend) — the "Cheri" of the
title — a thing or two about women.
Based on a novel by
Collette, the film is
directed by Stephen
Frears (High Fidelity,
Dangerous Liaisons),
68. He's also the
movie's narrator.
Michael Mann, 66,
is the director and co-
screenwriter of Public
Michael Mann