A Dream Called Marilyn by Mercedes King; Wistful Introspective Historical Fiction Of Marilyn Monroe and the Golden Age of Hollywood

A Dream Called Marilyn by 

Mercedes King; Wistful Introspective Historical Fiction Of Marilyn Monroe and the Golden Age of Hollywood 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Mercedes King’s A Dream Called Marilyn is the third book in two years, after Isaac Thorne’s Hell Spring and Lee Matthew Goldberg’s Immoral Origins that I read that features Marilyn Monroe. But it is the only one which stars Monroe herself and not a demon or con artist/assassin that looks like her. Here, she is a complex vulnerable and troubled woman and the highlight of this book.

Monroe comes to the attention of Dr. Charles Campbell, psychiatrist to the stars. Monroe has just been fired from what would be her final film, Something's Got to Give and is considered an addict and deeply paranoid. The more Charles talks to her, the more drawn he is to the real woman underneath the glamorous facade. But her sessions begin to reveal some darker secrets about a certain President of the United States, one John F. Kennedy. Charles finds himself the target of some sinister people who want Monroe to keep those secrets to the grave.

By far the most intriguing aspect of the book is Marilyn herself. She embodies the persona of someone who is surrounded by people, is the center of attention, and is still very much alone. She gives off the image of a beautiful bubbly kittenish unattainable goddess-figure but she is more complex and nuanced than her surface shows. The world doesn’t see a woman packed with fragility and insecurities egged on by the pressure of looking glamorous and making appearances. It doesn’t see a once lonely little girl abandoned by her mentally ill mother, deprived of love and security, and looking for them in every bad relationship that comes around. 

The world doesn’t see a hopeless romantic who is so enamored with the fantasies that she sells onscreen that she genuinely believes that Kennedy will divorce Jackie and marry her so they will live happily ever after. Charles sees all of that and so does the Reader. She is depicted as a lonely troubled misunderstood soul who needs someone to love her for herself and not the image that she conveys. She stands out in her therapy sessions with Charles to the point of stealing every moment that she is in the book.

She almost takes the spotlight from Charles but he proves to be an intriguing character in his own right. He has plenty of issues that suggest that he could use a few therapy sessions himself. He has a Hero Savior Complex that often pairs him with troubled women: Marilyn and his wife, who has her own mental health issues and a careless attitude towards their children. His fantasies about Marilyn increase the more that he gets to know her and definitely violate the doctor-patient relationship.

As Marilyn needs to be cared for, Charles has a need to do the caring despite his marriage, job, and the difficulties that come with being with a public figure. Their relationship puts Charles in some dangerous territory and increases his and Marilyn’s dependence on each other. It is not a healthy relationship and is made even worse by the scrutiny and danger.

If there is one complaint with the characterization it is that it is at the expense of the plot, at least the type of plot that King puts them in. There is a strong implication that Marilyn’s troublemaking persona is manufactured by a studio wary of publicity and she really is the target of potential assassins. That is an interesting angle but King wrote Marilyn with so many personal issues that it becomes hard to believe that her problems stem solely from outside forces and not within herself.

Perhaps King could have written Marilyn as more self assured and stronger, the type of person that would make one think, “Maybe, someone is after her.” Of course sometimes you can be paranoid but actually have someone after you at the same time. Certainly the stress that Marilyn is under would trouble even the hardest of hearts. But in this case, Marilyn seems like someone who may be worried about being poisoned but could just as easily reach for the bottle herself.

The strongest overall tone in this book is wistful and introspective. There is a realization that this represents the end of an era and it does. Charles is looking back on his life as an older man who has seen the Vietnam War, the Millennium, terrorist attacks, economic insecurity, and the inevitable decay of the American Dream. His time with Marilyn marks the last of his golden years and those of the country, a world where Presidential scandals are hidden and assassination is not a by word. Marilyn represents a time gone by as well, the end of the studio system where movie stars were unattainable and where films reflected our dreams more than our reality. Of course this is nostalgia and nostalgia wasn’t freely handed out to everyone. For people like Charles and Marilyn, this was a happy time. For many other people, it wasn’t. 

However, Charles and Marilyn are involved within the field that produces manufactured dreams so people can live idyllic fantastic lives every time they enter a cinema, the field that often contributes to if not outright creates the nostalgia. It is the lie that they sell and they have to, no matter how much it costs them personally. The reality is hidden but the fantasy and the nostalgia remains. 

 

Weekly Reader: Star Wars Legends: Tales From The Mos Eisley Cantina Edited by Kevin J. Anderson; Memorable Stories About Fascinating Characters In Iconic Scenes From The Star Wars Franchise

Weekly Reader: Star Wars Legends: Tales of the Mos Eisley Cantina Edited by Kevin J. Anderson; Memorable Stories About Fascinating Characters In Iconic Scene in the Star Wars Franchise

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




PopSugar Reading Challenge: A book with a made-up language (Huttese, Rodian, etc.)


Spoilers: A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far Far Away….

…..There was a great disturbance in the Force. Prequels and Sequels were yet a dream or a glimmer of an idea. The fandom had yet to explode into the Intergalactic Civil War. In fact Star Wars fans were united in their desire to hear more about that franchise. So, a small band of freedom fighters, uh Science Fiction authors, took it upon themselves to continue the saga in various forms. Through books, graphic novels, video games, and other outlets, the Expanded Universe, now known as Legends Series, was created and even though the movies have continued the canon saga, the Legends series has its share of fans and still has appreciation as a continuation and Alternate Universe of the well known and at times polarizing franchise.


One of the more interesting aspects that the Legends gave to the fans was how they served as continuations within the original trilogy. They filled the blanks between A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi showing that the characters that we already knew had other adventures when we weren't looking. They also gave more depth to supporting characters that most people would not have even remembered otherwise such as Wedge ("Look at the size of that thing!") Antilles, Mon ("Many Bothan spies died to give us this information.") Mothma, and Admiral ("It's a trap!") Akbar. In fact, some of the characters who only had a brief glimpse or a line or two in the movies were finally given their say and a chance in the spotlight in the Tales Anthology series. These anthologies took those extras from specific notable scenes in the movies and made them the main characters in their own stories.

One of the most iconic scenes in the entire series is Mos Eisley Cantina, "the wretched hive scum and villainy" on Tatooine from A New Hope where Luke Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi first encounter Han Solo and Chewbacca The Wookie (and this Reader's favorite scene from her favorite movie in the franchise). The intergalactic answer to Rick's Cafe Americain from Casablanca is filled with strange alien assassins, spies, thieves, mercenaries, murderers, and a crabby human bartender who does not like droids. Their stories are covered in the anthology, Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina, and it demonstrates the wonder of these books by giving more depth to that iconic scene by revealing the strange and rich characters that inhabited it.


The stories are all wonderful and imaginative in how they explore the various ways these characters survived in a dictatorship that spread throughout the entire galaxy. Some joined the Rebellion, others became card carrying Imperials. Still others took the lawless route and survived by entering lives of crime. Even though it is a science fiction setting, and one of the most well known at that, there are parallels to the situation in these series and how we Earthlings survived during dictatorships in our own history such as Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia.


They are well written brilliant stories with a colorful cast of characters. Among the best stories are:

"We Don't Do Weddings: The Band's Tale" by Kathy Tyers

Certainly among the most memorable moments in the Mos Eisley Cantina is the bouncy tune that plays as soon as Our Heroes enter the scene, the tune played on space age jazz instruments by similar looking bulbous headed creatures with wide dark eyes. The tune that gave Earthlings ear worms for decades. Well not many people know that the band is Figrin Da'n and The Modal Nodes and even less people know that jaunty tune is called "Mad About Me."
This humorous story deals with the conflict between Figrin, the firey tempered leader and compulsive gambler and Doik Na'ts, the more serious deadpan second in command. The two butt heads as they are removed from their original gig at Jabba's Place (future workplace of Jedi's musicians, The Max Rebo Band.) and are assigned to play at the wedding of Lady Valerian, a Whiphid and Jabba's strongest rival. 

The band has misgivings at playing at weddings in the first place (As Doik explains "A wedding gig lasts two days ,(three days with some species, plus the time it takes to learn new music.) You're treated like a recording told to repeat impossible phrases and lengthen the usual processional and ordered to play a final chord as the nerve wracked principal's arrive central stage... if they arrive. Someone always brings a screaming neonate. Then the reception where they inebriate themselves until no one hears a note. All this for half pay and full satisfaction. You helped perpetuate a species.") But to play for Jabba's worst rival is nothing short of suicidal, but the pay is good and for Figrin, the gambling tables are a plus so on they go.

Things turn to a very expected violent head between the wedding party and The Modal Nodes have no choice but to play a very familiar venue. The irony is underneath the bouncy exciteable tunes that the band plays, they are in fear every moment that either Jabba or Valerian will send their assassins. They are literally playing as if their lives depended on it. This final image of Doik scanning the crowd for any potential killers adds a sense of darkness to the joyful music that the band plays.


"A Hunter's Fate: Greedo's Tale" Tom Veitch and Martha Veitch

I am not going to go into the tired cliched "Who shot first" argument, because this is Greedo's story. The green bounty hunter that met the business end of Han Solo's blaster is revealed to be a young naive cocky punk in over his very large snout.

Greedo's is revealed to be part of the Rodians, a race of aliens who have been on the run when other Rodians started hunting one another for blood sport. Greedo however is fascinated by the thought of becoming a bounty hunter and inadvertently puts his widowed mother and younger brother in danger by one of his assignments. Left alone, he is trained by the conniving Dyyz Nataz and Warhog Goa in bounty hunting. Eventually, they are lead to the ever lovable Jabba the Hutt who orders a bounty on, guess who, Han Solo.

Greedo's arrogance is felt throughout the story as well as his determination to become the best bounty hunter. It is that arrogance and naivete that blinds him to the obvious fact that Goa and Dyyz are taking advantage of him and that Han would prove to be a formidable adversary.


"Hammertong: The Tale of The 'Tonnika Sisters'" by Timothy Zahn

One of the more intriguing aspects that each story has is how the characters observe the events from A New Hope from the droids being ordered outside, to Obi Wan cutting off Ponda Baba's arm, to Han's confrontation with Greedo. Similar to the audience in a play, the characters view these events from different angles and have different perspectives. Two of these characters that observe the events are Shada and Karoly, two mercenary warriors posing as Brea and Senni Tonnika, two con artist sisters. The two ladies study the statistics of the various cantina crawlers to solicit smugglers to assist them. The duo were hired to steal a strange weapon called the Hammertong and need a good smuggler/pilot to aid them in getting it off of Tatooine quickly. Unfortunately, their adventures cross with Luke Skywalker and Han Solo's and they end up in big trouble with the local Tatooine law.

The standout in this story is Shada, an idealist turned cynic who joined The Mistryl, a fabled group of heroic warrior women who over time lost their heroics and became mercenaries for hire. Shada longs to recapture the selfless heroism of legend but has to survive in a dark cynical Galaxy. Eventually, Shada finds that heroism within the Rebellion and realizes that she can use her warrior training for another better cause.


"The Sand Tender: The Hammerhead's Tale" by Dave Wolverton

One of the more unique looking aliens is Momaw Nadon, AKA Hammerhead. He was even one of the Mos Eisley Cantina gang that was made into an action figure.

His story puts him beyond the reputation of strange looking extra. In fact, his is among the saddest in the book. Nadon is a former priest who had a psychic connection with plants in which he honors the Law of Life. Unfortunately, an Imperial Captain Alima threatened to destroy the plants if Nadon did not reveal their technological secrets. Nadon caved, feeling the psychic pain of his plants. His actions exiled him from his home planet onto Tatooine where he works as a spy passing information for the Rebels and hoping for the chance to meet Alima again and kill him.

It's an emotional tug of war as Nadon has to reconcile his once peaceful nature with his hatred for Alima and all that the Imperials stand for. For the first time, he encounters a brutal savage side within himself and it threatens to consume his connections to his plants and the Law of Life. Fortunately, Nadon discovers a way to get revenge in his own way and to continue respecting the Law of Life.

"Empire Blues: The Devaronian's Tale" by Daniel Keys Moran

Among the narrators, one of my favorites is Kardue'sai Malloc AKA Labria, a devil looking character with sharp teeth. Malloc is a former Imperial soldier that after a bloodbath resigned and headed for Tatooine where he lost himself in booze, music, and regrets.

Malloc is a very sarcastic narrator with plenty of one liners. (He remarks that Wuher the Mos Eisley Cantina bartender, whom he describes as his best friend, dressed formally: "He changed his shirt.") He also has a passion that transcends the Empire or Rebellion: that of music.

Malloc has a large collection of recording chips of his favorite bands and singers. His recall of many of the musicians' histories recount what often happens when a dictatorship occurs. In any Galaxy, it is the artists who suffer and are arrested. Many of Malloc's collection consists of musicians who are arrested, dead, or missing, and their music has been banned by the Empire.

However, Malloc will do anything to hear his favorite groups. We learn that Malloc's story is tied to the Modal Nodes' story in that Malloc arranged for the band to perform at Lady Valerian's wedding and then get them hired to perform at the Cantina. Malloc's story reveals the desperation when one has very little to live for and holds onto it as the only thing to keep them going.


"When The Desert Wind Turns: The Stormtrooper's Tale" by Doug Beeson

Before the prequels revealed that the Imperial Storm Troopers were clones and the sequels retconned that into revealing to them as recruits selected from birth, this story reveals that they were recruited like any other soldier. This process is seen through the eyes of Davin Feith, a young rookie whose basic training is nothing short of torturous. He is trained to march and run the ATAT Walkers (He is the one who discovers the flaw that smaller fighters can tie their legs sending them to the ground). The threats are very real and life as a stormtrooper is very short.

Besides being a military story, "When The Desert Wind Turns" is also one of redemption. When Feith is one of the Troopers assigns to look for the droids, his eyes are opened to Imperial cruelty. In some of the saddest moments we see the actual scenes when the Jawa sand crawler is attacked and Luke's Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru are killed making these throw away scenes from the movie even more heart breaking.

In the end Feith must make a choice between remaining on his stormtrooper path or following his conscience and become a Rebel.


"One Last Night in the Mos Eisley Cantina: The Tale of the Wolfman and The Lamproid" by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens

In the Star Wars Legends Series, other characters are capable of using the Force. In fact in subsequent books, Luke opens up a Jedi Academy specifically to find and educate those who are Force sensitive.

This love story gives us two characters who are bound by the Force and their love for each other. Lak Sivrak and Dice Ibegon meet on that memorable day in the Cantina just as the droids are forced out the door. They begin a relationship as they join the Rebel Alliance, and fight in the Battle of Hoth, ending in Dice's death.

The strange story jumps Sivrak from the Battle of Endor, to Hoth, to the Cantina independent of time and space. His memories of Dice are out of joint as they know the things that are going to happen before they do and appear to be on different time streams. Finally, Dice gives her lover one last chance to escape their life together and his subsequent grief and to change his future. Sivrak has to consider if a life with a love that is lost is better than a life without love at all.

The lovely final moments show that love and sacrifice are worth fighting for in here or in any other galaxy.