Garbo LaughsFrom the award-winning author of A Student of Weather, a funny, sad-eyed novel about a woman caught between real love and movie love--and real love doesn't stand a chance. This is a novel about movie love. Set in Ottawa in the 1990s, it is the quixotic tale of tall, thin Harriet Browning, inflamed by the movies she was deprived of as a child. Bent on seeing everything she has missed, she rapidly becomes so saturated with old movies, seen repeatedly and swallowed whole, that she no longer fits into this world. Equally addicted are her three companions- of-the-screen: a boy who loves Frank Sinatra, a girl with Bette Davis eyes, and an earthy sidekick named after Dinah Shore. Breaking in upon this quiet backwater, in time with the devastating ice storm of 1998, come two refugees from Hollywood, the jaded widow of a famous screenwriter and her movie-expert stepson. They are Harsh Reality. With them come blackouts, arguments, accidents, illness, and sudden death. But what chance does real life stand when we can watch movies instead? What hope does real love have when movie love, in all its brief intensity, is an easy option? In this brilliant and poignant comedy of secondhand desire, m |
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Page 163
... knew , " said Leah . " Chaplin was the genius . " " I hate Charlie Chaplin . " Harriet's voice was hot and emphatic . " Did you see Limelight ? Keaton was a hundred times better than Chaplin and Chaplin knew it , which is why he left ...
... knew , " said Leah . " Chaplin was the genius . " " I hate Charlie Chaplin . " Harriet's voice was hot and emphatic . " Did you see Limelight ? Keaton was a hundred times better than Chaplin and Chaplin knew it , which is why he left ...
Page 194
... knew that was the end - they were all going to lose their jobs . He led a strike , even though he knew it was a lost cause . And after it failed , he killed himself . " They sat in the warm living room , thinking about death . Then ...
... knew that was the end - they were all going to lose their jobs . He led a strike , even though he knew it was a lost cause . And after it failed , he killed himself . " They sat in the warm living room , thinking about death . Then ...
Page 201
... knew somebody in common , " he said . " I heard a lot about her before I met her . " " And when was that ? " " The ... knew about Dinah's cancer . She told him what she knew : since they'd drained the fluid off her lungs she was feeling ...
... knew somebody in common , " he said . " I heard a lot about her before I met her . " " And when was that ? " " The ... knew about Dinah's cancer . She told him what she knew : since they'd drained the fluid off her lungs she was feeling ...
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answer asked aunt beautiful began beside better Bill called Cary coffee coming couldn't dark didn't Dinah don't door everything eyes face fall feel felt fern Fiona Frame front Garbo gave give glass going gone hair hand happened hard Harriet head hear heard heart interest It's Italy Jack Jane Kenny kids kitchen knew later laughed Leah leave light living looked mean mind morning mother moved movie never night once Pauline picture play reached remember side sitting sleep smile snow someone sound standing stayed steps stood stopped story street talk tell thing thought told took tree turned voice waiting walk watch week window woman women wonder write wrote