HARRY, REVISED by (mark sarvas!)
i'd read some 20-30 pages before steve arrived. had laughed out loud at least a dozen times, and smiled when i wasn't laughing. knew early on i had a winner in my hands, and -if i could be so honest- was slightly disappointed when my new xyron representative showed up; even though he arrived later than our original plan.
not for any other reason than i hated to put the book down. -and how rude and unlady like is that? steve, -and i think i'm safe using his real name, because he is a xyron representative and not a cia agent - did me such a kind favor.. dropping off xyron's newest "creative station" before my appearance on robin fahr's show. THANK YOU AGAIN! (segment available on my website soon)
but what a terrible impression i left..
if you've read harry revised by mark sarvas, you understand entirely, but if you have not;
imagine this:
we had exchanged pleasantries and conversated over lunch. steve telling me about xyron's latest/greatest, the family owned manufacturer-representatives business, his wife, son and life in general. me telling steve about mag time frames, my PhD in business from school of hard knocks, my plans for robin fahr's show -and how i think every house should have 3 xyron machines and 1 tv..
and it is now time to part ways and we each start picking up our things from the table.
the second i put my hand on harry, revised i can feel myself smiling -really big-
several passages are coming to mine at once, and i'm almost laughing out loud
"what are you reading?" steve asks
"oh.. harry revised," i say with a huge smile
"looks like you like it" steve says
"oh! it is hilarious.. just brilliant," i say
"what's it about?" steve asks
" well, .... okay... it's about this man.. harry.. harry rent... he's a widower.." i start to explain
"he's a widower?"
"yeah.. his wife is dead"
"and that's funny?"
"it's so funny"
and he looks at me a little confused,
"the man's wife is dead and it's funny?"
" yeah.. 'cuz, well, ... it's the way he's written this character harry.. he's so broken you know.."
"his wife is dead, and he's broken and that's funny?"
"hilarious"
and by this time we are out the door headed in opposite directions.
and it doesn't really hit me til i can't fall asleep that night, what a terrible impression i've left with my new xyron representative
so i've decided to buy him a copy of the book to repair my reputation. i'd give him mine, but, as you can see, it's personnally inscribed. i had the great pleasure of meeting mark sarvas at towne center books in may, when he was here in pleasanton as part of his book tour. watched as he was interviewed by jim ott for in a word on tv30, and then sat with several others afterward for his reading, conversation & q&a session.. huge treat. -very glad now that i did not read harry, revised until AFTER i met him. had i read it in advance i would have been all over-complimentary and drooly in his company, but since i did not know yet who mark sarvas was, did not know yet what a winner of a novel it was.. i sat there my relatively quiet self; listening intently, comfortably uninformed and curious.
*** few favorite passages ***
pg 9: such are the daily dilemmas of life in harry-land, this multiplicity of voices, of endless options infinitely contemplated, never acted upon, always deferred.
pg 13: his tabula could not be more rasa
pg 57: cowardice, his most powerful involuntary reflex, begins to lift him from the stool, but enlightened self-interest elbows its way into the conversation and reminds harry that he's going to need to be able to return to this place, and he's got a low threshold for awkward encounters.
pg 61: like dantes, he will do his homework first. he'll learn aobut her life, determine where it's gone wrong, and what she needs to set it right. and then -- asking absolutely nothing in return -- he will set about making it so. he imagines it's only a matter of time until molly stops feeling impressed and starts to feel stirrings of love. and then he can turn that selflessness, that dantean focus toward her, and the accumulation of kindness will be impossible for her to resist, and she'll be his. (he could, he supposes, cut out the middleman and focus this attention directly on molly herself, but he decides that echoes his prostitute past too much for his taste).
pg 73: rather, he's anxious to make some sort of progress with molly. the reverberations of her hug still haunt him and fuel his imagination, and like any addict, he wants more. he's going to have to step into the light a bit, make himself a little more visible if he's to make any substantial gains here. he makes a mental note to pick up an actual copy of the count of monte cristo and mine it for inspiration.
and then just so many great scenes; one after another... at the funeral; in the exercise class; in the book store; in the cafe; trying to help molly's friend; trying to win molly's heart; w/bruce..
stranger on the phone; failed spy work; the fight; the mother/son reunion at the jail; the meeting/falling in love w/anna; meeting her uncomfortably wealthy family; the doctoring of the degree; the scene w/the prostitute... the whole cast of characters in harry rent's world; the organization of the story; the charming chapter subtitles: great work! great read!
but ultimately it is harry rent himself.. his blend of weaknesses/strengths (80/20) ... his misadventures and ~slow, painful, personal evolution that made this book easy to pick up; hard to put down.
congratulations mark sarvas! on a winner of a first novel!
~sandra, ttgp
posted by SHE @ 6:17 AM
7 Comments:
I'm sold! I'm buying Harry tomorrow morning--and it will give me another "reasonable" reason to still procrastinate! Thanks, Sandra! I can't wait to start reading...
cfl: -glad to hear it. and i'm a big fan of productive proscrastination (i think ray orrock coined that term).
"to harry rent!"
Harry, Revised is a great book. Thanks for spotlighting it in your blog. And Mark Sarvas was a gentle soul who really connected with the folks who came to see him at Towne Center Books.
ren man: -and a great "in a word" interview to get to witness..
wish the cameras were rolling for the entire q&a..
some unique and stimulating questions..
and wonderful, thoughtful answers
"to tv30, in a word, towne center books and mark sarvas!"
~and tonight i appropriately toast with champagne~
Sounds like a future In a Word pick! Sandra, we'll be calling you!
dd: you and jim have been SO GRACIOUS and wonderful to me
if you said, "and can you come dressed like a rooster"
i'd say "sure"
then panic and do it anyway.
She, hmmmm... That rooster idea might be good for ratings!
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