Some Inside Stuff about Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory

Everybody knows either the iconic children's book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or the movie Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (and probably the remake with Johnny Depp from 2005 too).  In fact, most everybody probably knows both (or all 3).

My kids are 38, 35, and 30.  I read Charlie to them many years ago (along with a bunch of other Roald Dahl books - The Twits, The BFG, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The Witches).  Nobody wrote  better read-to-your-kids books than Roald Dahl.  So why am I taking a very long trip back to memory lane?  Because I just came across 10 facts about Dahl, the book, and the movie that I didn't know.  And that I suspect most of you don't know.  This is just so boss (ask your parents - or grandparents).

              
.The book grew out of a bedtime story Dahl made up for his first two children, Olivia and Tessa (the second of whom would go on to become the mother of the writer, presenter and model Sophie Dahl).
            

.The original title of the book was Charlie's Chocolate Boy. Charlie was one of ten children who found one of what was then a weekly batch of golden tickets entitling them to a tour of the factory and ended up in a chocolate boy mold by accident and being bought for a little girl as an Easter present.


.Mr. Willy Wonka was first known as Mr. Ritchie.
               

.And the Oompa-Loompas, right up until the very last moment, were the Whipple-Scrumpets.

                

.The 1971 film adaptation of the book came about because Mel Stuart's daughter Madeline brought a copy home, told him she had read it three times and that she wanted him to make it into a film. Coincidentally, his producer partner David Wolper was having a conversation with an advertising agent who had a client -- Quaker Oats -- who wanted to fund a project that could tie in with a new chocolate bar they were making. Done and done!

 .Dahl wanted Peter Sellers or Spike Milligan to play Wonka in the film. Stuart and Wolper wanted all-singing, all-dancing, all-Tony-Award-winning stage actor Joel Grey, but realised that if any of the child actors had a growth spurt during shooting they could end up towering over the five-foot-five star. And then, when Gene Wilder auditioned they knew they had found the perfect man for the part. "The role fit him tighter than Jacques Cousteau's wetsuit," says Wolper in his autobiography, Producer.
                


.Julie Dawn Cole, who played Veruca Salt in the film, is now a child psychotherapist. Peter Ostrum -- Charlie -- is a big animal vet in New York State.

.There are five drafts of Charlie still in existence, in the archive at the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire. It is thought that Dahl destroyed the very first one after his young nephew told him it was "rubbish."
               

.When it was first published in September 1964 it sold 10,000 copies in the first week. The New York Times called it "sheer joy."
                

.Dahl wanted a relatively unknown young artist called Maurice Sendak to illustrate the first edition. But he was too busy working on a book that the timing suggests was Where the Wild Things Are.

This is just 1 of the main reasons why I LOVE books.  Even 48 years later we get to learn neat facts about books that we grew up with.  Or at least had reason to be familiar with.  If my kids read this blog (I don't necessarily think that will, or does, happen!), then I know they'll think this is as cool as I do.

An Interview with Rayme Waters - The Making of The Angels' Share

You all know by now how much I loved The Angels' Share by Rayme Waters.  How do you know that?  Because I've told you numerous times.  I gave it a 4/4 when I reviewed it, and it sits on my recommending table on Sunday mornings at Recycle Bookstore.  So, why am I telling you this? Well, a while ago I had a chance to sit down with Rayme and talk to her about how this book came to be.  It's an interesting story (I'm sure you will agree).

To begin with, it took 8 years from the idea for the book until she signed with a publisher! She spent the 1st couple of years in communication with a literary agent.  When Rayme finally sent the agent a 1st draft, the agent passed (#*!@%&$ agent).  Rayme went back to the beginning and did a re-write.  Of the 15 agents she sent a partial manuscript to, 2 or 3 said they wanted to see the whole thing.  When they got it, they also passed (see editorial comment in parentheses directly above).

(Aside - we're still on the same story, but I'm starting a new paragraph so as to lighten up this very elongated and slightly depressing process).

Rayme took another 2 years to fix the problems that were pointed out to her.  And she hit the agent trail again.  This time, she got her agent.  It was Thanksgiving of 2010. Problem solved, yes?  Uh, not so fast.  The agent spent 6 months getting turned down by publishers.  Until, finally, an editor at a major publishing company said she loved it.  She said she was going to try and sell it to her people.  Phew, that took awhile.  But...wait...The editor failed.  That publishing company did not pick it up (what's wrong with all of these people?).  End of the road?  Not even close.  Rayme's agent stuck with it and sold it to Winter Goose Publishing.  And here we are.

It's mind-boggling to me that a book that was just so good got turned down by a bunch of so-called experts in the publishing industry.  It makes me (almost) want to work for a publisher just to prevent this from happening to another deserving author.  I will admit that everybody has a right to his/her opinion.  But, c'mon.  When it's this obvious, there should not be so much aggravation.

SIDE NOTE:  Rayme told me something about her writing of this book that I found to be fascinating.  Since this is a redemption story, there obviously has to be something that the central character redempts from.  But Rayme said it was too depressing to write the book chronologically. So she wrote the ending 1st in order to convince herself that there was hope for the protagonist.

FOOTNOTE (Is that really any different from a side note?):  The angels' share means the amount of alcohol that evaporates during the maturation phase.  I did not know this until after I read the book.

And Speaking of Daniel Silva...

Daniel Silva's 14th Gabriel Allon novel (17th overall), The Heist, is right in step with his previous 13.  As I mentioned in my review of John Lescroart's The Keeper, the plot is almost irrelevant.  When reading any good series, and this is one of my favorites, it's all about the recurring characters.  When they show up, it's always a feel-good moment.  I have to say, though, that this time I was a little disappointed about a couple of character appearances.  1st, Ari Shamron, Gabriel's boss and father figure, only shows up briefly.  I really like him a lot.  And, 2nd, Gabriel's "team" doesn't really come into play until about halfway through the book.  Maybe that's when they normally get involved, but it seems a little bit late for me.

I spent much of the book thinking that it was a bit more cliche-like than usual.  In fact, I was getting ready to give it a 3/4, whereas, last year, it was a 3.5/4, and I was singing Silva's praises on how he was getting better with each book.  But I had to change my mind because Silva is just too darn clever.  The scam that they perpetrated on the bad guys was really well-conceived.  And he really knows how to develop a plot.  Plus, his knowledge of art restoration and the backgrounds of the Masters (in this case, it was Caravaggio) are pretty mind-blowing.  So I ended up rating it a 3.5/4.  Maybe I'm just becoming soft in my old age.

You know how I always make such a big deal about having an emotional connection to the characters.  Well, in this case, there isn't much, and, more importantly, I don't need it. Yes, you heard/read me right.  I had a very quick emotional reaction to a meeting Gabriel had with Leah, his 1st wife.  And, again, when he gives his real name to someone who is helping them put one over on the evildoers.  There's another time where I did a little bit of head-shaking.  And still another situation where I said:  "What the heck happened?"  That was it.  Otherwise, I'm just reading and enjoying another episode in a long series.  And you know what?  I'm just fine with that.

ANOTHER SILVA RECOMMENDATION:  One of Silva's early works, before he started the Allon series, is called The Unlikely Spy.  This is one of my very favorite WWII stories.  This one is about the Nazi's embedding spies in England a number of years before WWII began.  And how the English found and uprooted them.  It's probably my favorite Silva, including the 14 Gabriel Allon's.

John Lescroart's 25th Novel - The Keeper

I have just read John Lescroart's 25th novel, The Keeper, but it's only my 3rd (I think).  I can't really explain why I haven't read any more of John's books.  A few years ago, I was introduced to Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky.  I read a couple of books, and then I emailed John and asked him what order I should read them (for some reason I was confused - imagine that!).   John was kind enough to give me a detailed explanation of what order to read his books and why.  He was extremely generous with the time he took. He was also a real gentleman when I asked him to appear at Village House of Books. We exchanged a number of emails, and he never made me feel like I was annoying him (we all know that I was).  And, yet, I didn't read any more of his books until now.  What is wrong with me, you ask?  Many people have asked that question, and, still, nobody has an answer.  BUT, I'm making up for it.  I promise, John, that I will stay current moving forward.

For those of you who read John's books, you know who Dismas and Abe are.  For the rest of you, suffice it to say that Dismas is a defense attorney, and Abe is a retired San Francisco police officer, and the action takes place in SF.  They have had many cases/adventures together.  The Keeper is the latest.  The plot is not very important.  It's like telling you the plot for a Jack Reacher novel; or a Gabriel Allon novel (a review of Daniel Silva's latest will be coming to a blog near you soon).  The premise doesn't matter. It's just the interplay between the main characters and how they go about solving a murder.

Did I enjoy The Keeper, after all this time in between?  Absolutely.  Does it matter that I missed books 3-24?  Not really.  In fact, when I first came across their names, it felt like it was only yesterday since my last Hardy/Glitsky book.  I think that's about the highest compliment I can give.

Every once in a while, I like to bullet point what I like about a book/series.  I'm going to do it again now.

1.  Abe, who is the product of a black woman and a caucasian rabbi(!), is very funny.  And I do appreciate humor.  I like Dismas, but I love Abe.
2.  It's a very well-conceived plot.
3.  There's a lot of dialogue.  Books that have at least a fair amount of dialogue definitely move faster for me.  Being the deep thinker that I am, too many long paragraphs can lose me.
4.  I was completely fooled about whodunit.  We know I'm not the greatest figure-it-outer in the world (or even in my own home), but I'm not normally THIS clueless.
5.  Even before the denouement (big French word - I guess I'm pretty cultured, non?), I had some revelatory moments.  My 1st "uh oh" was on page 156.  My 1st "aha" was on page 164.  And on page 250, I did a little reevaluation of my entire thought process.

Brad Thor, himself an accomplished writer, wrote:  "Smart, riveting, and utterly compelling...hands down the best legal thriller I have read in years and a perfect case study for why readers love the brilliant John Lescroart."

And the Associated Press said:  "A tense and intricate tale...Lescroart is a master of legal suspense."

I will add:  "Get it and read it.  You will enjoy it."  (I guess I didnt' really need the quotes, did I?)

SOUTHBAY APPEARANCE:  John Lescroart will be coming to Village House of Books #2 on Wednesday, November 12, at 7:00.  If you get a chance, come see him.  He's not only a good writer, he's also a good guy.  That's a great combination in my book.

Some Mini-Reviews (I heard your collective cries of glee when you saw the word "mini")

The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King.
Laurie has written a bunch of books, including 3 series, some standalones, and even a couple of anthologies.  But her most popular series is the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes books.  And The Beekeeper's Apprentice is the 1st one (written 20 years ago) out of 12.  I liked it.  Will I read more?  Probably not.  But that's more a function of just too many other books to read.  Would I recommend it?  I would.

Book 1 starts in 1915 with Mary, age 15, meeting Sherlock, who has retired to the English countryside and raises bees.  What follows is about 4 years, including time during WWI, where Mary becomes Sherlock's apprentice.  It's a very clever premise, and it's done well. I have to say that there were quite a few emotional moments for me.  In fact (I made a note of this), I teared up 3X in the 1st 20 pages!  Laurie does a really good job of making you care about not only Mary and Sherlock, but also about Dr. Watson, Mrs. Hudson, Sherlock's housekeeper/cook, and even Sherlock's brother, who is a policeman.

P.S.  There's a moment late in the book when Sherlock calls Mary "Russ."  I enjoyed that because some people call me "Russ."  I guess that's not so surprising since both Mary and I have the same last name.

Pandemic by Yvonne Ventresca
This is a YA I read only because C. Lee McKenzie, the master of the YA's, suggested it to me.  And it's good.  She's no C. Lee, but the book is entertaining, and I would recommend it to the YA set (as opposed to Lee's The Princess of Las Pulgas, which I would encourage any- and everybody to read - in fact, you will find Princess on my recommending table Sunday mornings at Recycle Bookstore).  The book centers on a high school girl, Lilianna, who, less than a year earlier, was molested by a beloved teacher at the school.  She has become withdrawn and has gone from model student to loner.  Now, all of a sudden, some kind of contagion attacks the school and surrounding area.  It's not really a spoiler alert to tell you that people are dying left and right, many of them very close to Lilianna.  Now, she must work closely with other kids, and a few adults, to protect their loved ones and provide a service to their community.

I'm not a big apocalyptic, lots-of-people-die kind of guy.  But within that framework, Yvonne does tell a good story, and it does center on high-schoolers.  That certainly means it should do well with the YA crowd.

The Catch by Taylor Stevens
This is an interesting one for a couple of reasons.  The Catch is Taylor's 4th book in the Vanessa Michael Munroe series.  I read the 1st one, The Informationist, several years ago.  I thought it was okay but did not intend to read any more.  Then a funny thing happened.  I signed up for Taylor's blog and ended up having a personal email relationship with her.  Mostly for that reason, I decided to give her series another try.  Her publisher, Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, sent me an ARC, and I read it (obviously).  So what did I think?  It was better than #1.  I don't know if I will read #5, but I might.

What's it about?  It's a little tough to explain.  I'll quote part of the book's jacket:  "Vanessa Michael Munroe, chameleon and information hunter, has a reputation for getting things done-often dangerous and not quite legal things-and the adrenaline-fueled work has left her with blood on her hands and a soul stained with guilt.  Having borne the burden of one death too many, Munroe has fled to Djibouti, Africa, where her only responsibility is greasing the wheels of commerce for a small maritime security company-until her boss pressures her to join his team as an armed transit guard on a ship bound for Kenya."

Each of her 4 adventures runs along the same themes (like most series) and takes place somewhere in Africa.  BookPage says:  "If you are a fan of Jack Reacher, Lisbeth Salander, or Nina Zero (don't know her), you need to check out Vanessa Michael Munroe."  I'll leave it to you whether this sounds like something you want to read.  I can't highly recommend it, but I definitely think that a fair amount of you will like it.

Finis.

Shelly Kings's Launch Last Night Was A HUGE Success

Yesterday, September 2, was the official publication date for Shelly King's The Moment of Everything.  And she launched her book at Books, Inc. in Mt. View.  It was a great night. Shelly was very well-prepared.  She read short excerpts from a few different sections combined with a slide show, in which she gave us some old (and new) pictures that tied into her story.  It was not only fun, but it was also educational.  Let the pictures tell the tale.

This is, obviously, the front of the store on Castro Street.

There were people standing in other parts of the store, too.  The total was around 75.

This is Shelly chatting with fans before her presentation.

And this is Shelly signing books after her presentation (I was next).

Ann Gelder and Rayme Waters (l-r), VHOB alumni, were there to support Shelly.  Rayme was a VHOB Book Club author (with Karen Joy Fowler), and Ann had a launch for her book, Bigfoot and the Baby.

And Keith Raffel, a writing partner of Shelly's, and another VHOB alumnus, was there, too.  He also was a VHOB Book Club author.

During Shelly's presentation, she invited everybody to join her at Scratch, right down the street from Books, Inc., to continue the party.  And it was her treat!  Unfortunately, I couldn't stay.  Rats.

Upcoming Event:  I saw last night that Hampton Sides will be at Books, Inc., Mt. View, on Monday night, September 22.  He is presenting his new book, In the Kingdom of Ice:  The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jennette.  I don't know anything about this book, but I read an earlier one of his called The Ghost Soldiers.  It's about the march to Bataan during WWII. It was chilling but excellent.  I'm going to make every effort to be there.  The event starts at 7:00.

Running My Stuff (also known as Miscellaneous)

Just a few things to mention (don't groan - this won't take long):

1.  You all know how much I love local authors.  I read 'em, blog about 'em, meet 'em, support 'em, and, more often than not, sincerely extol their literary virtues (plus, I really like all of them personally).  Having said that, I think I'm going to take a little break and head for the national biggies.  I've got used copies (thank you, Recycle) of the latest from Daniel Silva, Greg Iles (his 1st in about 5 years, due to a serious accident), Robert Harris, David Baldacci (2 - Will Robie and Maxwell and King), and Nelson DeMille.  Plus, I haven't read Khaled Hosseini's And the Mountains Echoed or Dan Brown's Inferno.  Since I'm not working at Village House of Books anymore, it gives me an opportunity to read some other things.  In case any of you are worried about me giving up on the locals, that will definitely NOT be happening.  

2.  I came across a very interesting article about how some smaller publishers are letting us common folk determine which books they will be publishing.  It's called crowdsourcing, and it appears to be a pretty new phenomenon.  Here's the link.  I would recommend that you at least skim it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/12/business/media/publishers-turn-to-the-crowd-to-find-the-next-best-seller.html?emc=edit_th_20140812&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=20735318

3.  I'm very disappointed to say that I couldn't finish my 1st Gregg Hurwitz novel.  He appeared at Village House of Books for a signing, and I bought his latest, Don't Look Back, and got it signed.  It's his 10th book, and I thought I would finally add another well-known author to my arsenal.  Alas, at page 119, I stamped it DNF (did not finish).  I can't explain it.  All I can tell you is that I was getting ready to go to the gym, where I can read to my heart's content for 45 minutes to an hour.  In fact, I actually look forward to going (insert any words/phrases of disbelief) so that I can read guilt-free and take my mind off the actual exercise.  And when I thought about reading more of Gregg's book, I, all of a sudden, didn't want to go.  Not good.  I know that Gregg doesn't need me to read or like his books.  But I'm never happy to write those 3 letters in my notebook.  (I ended up taking Silva's latest Gabriel Allon adventure, The Heist, with me - and read 40 pages - it got me through the workout.)

4.  And speaking of Silva, a friend of mine, Bob asked me about a good historical fiction for a plane ride.  I came up with 2 right off the top.  One of them is a very early Silva called The Unlikely Spy.  It's about how the Nazis embedded spies in England in the mid-'30's, and how the English went about uprooting them during WWII.  If you're looking for something in the historical fiction genre, I highly recommend this one.  (Coincidentally, Bob's wife, Ann, had just started reading The Unlikely Spy, a fact which I didn't know when I recommended it.)

5.  By now, you all know that the VHOB Book Club is now the Recycle Book Club.  And that our book club has moved to Recycle Bookstore in Campbell.  There are 2 things I want to tell you about that:

     1.  Here's the schedule for the upcoming authors:
          September 18 - Jana McBurney-Lin and Hi-Dong Chai - Blossoms and Bayonets
          October 28 - Shelly King - The Moment of Everything
          November 18 - Joshua Safran - Free Spirit:  Growing up on the Road and off the
              Grid
          December (exact date TBD) - Natalie Baszile - Queen Sugar

     2.  If you want to have your name on the email list, so that you can get notices
          regarding the bookclub, let me know, and I'll add you on.

See, I told you I wouldn't take too long.