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Product Description
Review
“Startling and original.”—The Economist
“[Franco] ends up perfectly mirroring the undulations of a teenage mind.”—The New York Times Book Review
“[Franco] ends up perfectly mirroring the undulations of a teenage mind.”—The New York Times Book Review
Book Description
A fiercely vivid collection of stories about troubled California teenagers and misfits--violent and harrowing, from the astonishingly talented actor and artist James Franco.
Palo Alto is the debut of a surprising and powerful new literary voice. Written with an immediate sense of place--claustrophobic and ominous--James Franco's collection traces the lives of an extended group of teenagers as they experiment with vices of all kinds, struggle with their families and one another, and succumb to self-destructive, often heartless nihilism. In "Lockheed" a young woman's summer--spent working a dull internship--is suddenly upended by a spectacular incident of violence at a house party. In "American History" a high school freshman attempts to impress a girl during a classroom skit with a realistic portrayal of a slave owner—only to have his feigned bigotry avenged. In "I Could Kill Someone," a lonely teenager buys a gun with the aim of killing his high school tormentor, but begins to wonder about his bully's own inner life.
These linked stories, stark, vivid, and disturbing, are a compelling portrait of lives on the rough fringes of youth.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
James Franco's literary debut was...,
This review is from: Palo Alto: Stories (Hardcover)
This book was compiled of short stories about, what was essentially, bored teenagers in Palo Alto California (Where James Franco grew up). I'm still on the fence on wether or not I liked it. The writing was ok, though not really what I would expect from Franco. The stories didn't seem to go anywhere, and that was my big beef. At the end of a story it's nice to feel like the author was trying to convey some sort of message, but in Palo Alto I'm not sure what the message was, if there even was one.
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2.9 out of 5 stars (54 customer reviews) 21 of 23 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
"black gaping gap",
By Amy - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Palo Alto: Stories (Hardcover)
I had the experience (I had originally typed "pleasure" but I realize that would be dishonest of me) of reading Franco's "Into the Black" (re-named "Jack-O" for the book) in Esquire during my final year as an undergraduate creative writing major. Reading that story, knowing it had been published in such an esteemed magazine by an unknown writer, was like being punched in the face by someone wearing a large high school ring on each finger who had recently completely his lavatory hygiene with that same fist.The "black gaping gap" line is missing from the book, however the prose maintains the choppy, voiceless, faux-80's-minimalism of that piece throughout. I recommend to anyone considering a purchase: go online, read "Into the Black." If you love it then hey, good for you, James has a fan. If not, don't bother, unless you are like me and feel the need to masochistically go through it all with a red pen. Franco is a fine writer if your standards are "Creative Writing Intermediate Class." These stories would not have wowed me in an advanced or master class and they certainly do not merit publishing. It is an insult to writing students everywhere to see this in print, especially lauded by Amy Hempel and Mona Simpson (those endorsements almost made me cry). It is clear that if, like the rest of us, Franco had taken a four-year program, he could emerge as a decent writer. However his experience is slapdash and copycat and it shows. I have read far, far better stories by my peers and it is beyond frustrating knowing how hard they will have to work to ever see their work as exposed as Franco's. I cannot believe that Yale has accepted him as an English PhD student. On a side note, a friend pointed out that Franco's name is the same size as the title on the front cover, and we all had a good laugh. 117 of 147 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Don't Quit Your Day Job,
By William Kennedy - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Palo Alto: Stories (Hardcover)
I'm frankly shocked by the positive reviews already posted for this collection of stories by James Franco. I was hoping to avoid making the obvious statement, but I feel there's no way around it - this book never would have seen the light of day if Franco was not an actor.I don't know much about acting, but I realize it involves inhabiting the psyche of a single person for the duration of a film. Writing however, involves probing the minds of multiple characters and keeping track of their personalities and the stories in which they are a part of. Franco may be a competent actor, but he is no writer. These stories, averaging ten pages each, constitute some of the worst writing I've ever had the displeasure to read. Not only are they bad, they are offensive in almost every regard. If you are going to subject your audience to teenagers engaged in horrific and senseless sexual behavior and acts of violence, you better have some damn good prose to make it all seem surreal. Franco writes in a pseudo-minimalist style that is trying to be some sort of Denis Johnson/Raymond Carver hybrid, but acheives neither. Johnson is incredibly poetic and incisive while creating characters we actually care about. Franco's bunch of degenerates have no redeeming qualities whatsoever. They are lost and hopeless, but unfortunately they are never tragic. Tragic would imply that these people are aware of how lost they are. Take any Carver story and look at the emotion evoked by these poor wretched people just barely scraping by. This is because Carver cares about his characters, he wants to see them do what's right even though he knows they won't. I went into this book with an open mind. I wanted to like it. I was hoping that Franco would impress me. I walked away disgusted and disappointed. If I may be so bold, he seems enamored by the "literary author" image, but lacks the chops to fully inhabit it. Ammendment: These quotes from other recognized literary authors sound like they've been paid to drool all over Franco's book. Who gives blurbs like these unless you've gotten money to sound this enraptured? "Franco's talent is unmistakable, his ambition profound." "This is a book to be inhaled more than once, with delight and admiration." --Gary Shteyngart, author of Absurdistan and Super Sad True Love Story "Franco's intense artistry swarms all over this gripping book" --Ben Marcus, author of Notable American Women Intense artistry? Profound ambition? Okay...now everyone bow down to Hollywood...all together now. 50 of 61 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
What Doesn't Kill You,
By J. Avery - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Palo Alto: Stories (Hardcover)
I'm pretending hunkosaurus Franco didn't write this. Moving on.This is the stuff of every Creative Writing class you took as an undergrad. It's all Holden Caulfield crabby and Bret Easton Ellis name-droppy; gruesome with those obnoxious one-liner sentences that are meant to be profound in their brevity. The racial issues are slapped on strangely, and the tone is mushy oatmeal bland. "Killing Animals" was worth reading, but even then, it feels like Ellis fan fiction. Now I'm pretending Franco did write them. Look my man, you have many rich and successful friends. Many of whom are writers who like you because you're a cool dude. You're also a hunk. This is working against you. If my mom wrote a book called "imma Real Gud Mama", I'd tell her she was the next Faulkner. Get some unbiased advice, sweetheart. And call me. |
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