The Surprise of Burning - Softcover

Hard-drinking photojournalist Hunter Page becomes obsessed with learning more about the mother he never knew, legendary jazz vocalist Lela Maar, in a desperate attempt to avoid coming to terms with his own experiences in Vietnam. Through Page's researches, and the reminiscences of Lela's reefer-smoking piano man Lester "Fingers" Mink, we catch glimpses of the woman in her various metamorphoses: as Vera Marsh, part-time leafleteer for the American Anarchist Alliance; as Lela Maar; and finally as Ariel, a fragile beauty dying of heroin addiction at a London clinic. Doane seems to be trying to incorporate as many cultural stereotypes and genre styles as possible in one book. The result reads like a bad parody. Not recommended. Edward B. St. John, Loyola Law Sch., Los Angeles
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.