Larry Baker

Reading Love and Other Delusions is like slipping into a dreamlike cinematic experience, the romantic kind of movie-watching where the heavy curtains are pulled back dramatically to reveal a story that grabs hold of you and doesn't let go until it's over. Then the lights come up, and you sit there in a daze a little bit, looking around, regaining your bearings, and processing everything before you are ready to walk away from it. The momentum of this book is admirable, as are the many ways Baker draws on cinematography to frame the narrative.… (mehr)

Published in 1997, this book was given to me by a friend. Reminiscent in more than location, of the more recent book by Laura Lee Smith, Heart of Palm, The Flamingo Rising is set on the Atlantic Coast near St. Augustine . The action in this book centers on the story of a family that owns and runs a drive in movie theater located on the beach. Eccentric parents, two adopted children and an extended family of usual workers and helpers live in and manage the theater. Across the road and in the shadow of the big screen is another man's dream, his funeral home that he runs with his six sons and a daughter. Not a good combination for congenial neighbor relations. Many love stories play out in this book that is told in reflection by the adopted son of the theater owner; first love, lost love, love spawned by loneliness. Very good read. More a 3.75 than a 3.… (mehr)