Don’t Make a Scene
Valerie Block
Reviewed by Amy Lignor
Diane Kurasik is rapidly approaching her fortieth
birthday. She is the director of a
Greenwich Village revival house
cinema and a single woman who is watching her friends give birth,
marry, and divorce
– even her niece is entering sixth grade – talk about mortality issues. She wonders if the “life lessons” that she
was supposed to have learned by this age have truly eluded her for good. The Bedford Street Cinema, her home away from
home, is a fantastic place to spend hours and hours in peace and quiet,
reliving the on-screen gems that Hollywood produced once upon a time. The building that sits beside it has been
donated to the Theatre so they can restore and add-on another screen to
the
historic landmark.
In comes…Vladimir Padron, part of a
construction/design team
that is hired to do the job. Vladimir
is strong, intelligent, and beyond interesting.
He is a man who fled Cuba
a decade earlier, leaving behind an estranged wife in Havana
who will not grant him a divorce. In
addition, the wife, who he has not seen in twelve years, has moved in
with his
family who desires and demands Vladimir’s
return.
There are good characters that pop up in literature once in
a while and Diane Kurasik is one of them.
Not only is the romance that develops between her and Vladimir
compelling, but the token “mysterious stranger” that shows up in this
novel is
dynamic and passionate. In a nutshell,
movies are Diane’s life. They show the
world what we all want so badly for ourselves; a place where good guys
win and
every husband looks like Clark Gable, talks like Cary Grant, and
waltzes you
around the room like Fred Astaire.
There is a “side” avenue in the story about Diane being evicted from
her
apartment because they are going to turn it into a high-rise. Her search for a good apartment within her
price range is hysterical. She bounces
from friend to friend and family member to family member.
Her parents, who are both loving and
supportive, are also constantly trying to see her married, so she
leaves her
childhood home quickly to “bunk” at her sister’s house.
I have to tell you the family dynamic is
charming.
I understand Diane.
This is a hardworking, witty, and intelligent female. There are tidbits of sheer genius in the text
like the paragraph where she gets a call from a friend who hasn’t
called her in
months. She wonders to herself…if she just noticed that this person has
completely broken off contact with her after six months…does she really
care? Another wonderful moment is when
Diane tries to remember when she reached the age of No – no smoking, no
drinking, no blind dates, no fat – no thank you. (Fabulous
lines.) The other star of this book is the
unbeatable, fun, bizarre, and charming landscape of New
York City. The
West Village, the real estate market – every perfect street and
imperfect
sidewalk makes you want to travel to the East Coast as fast as possible.
Sparkling dialogue, witty conversations, and great
characters; there are two other titles by this author, and I suggest
checking
them out too.
Author Web Site
(Her site has an amazing free offer for her other book- check it out!)