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Waiting for Gertrude: A graveyard gothic
 
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Waiting for Gertrude: A graveyard gothic (Paperback)

by Bill Richardson (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Product Description

Amazon.ca

Few novels can boast of having found a way to introduce aesthete author Oscar Wilde to rock wild child Jim Morrison of the Doors, but in Waiting for Gertrude, his whimsical "graveyard gothic," Bill Richardson does just that. Richardson, a radio broadcaster with three previous books behind him (including the popular Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast), brings his sly wit to bear in a fantasy involving a famous graveyard, sentient cats, and internationally renowned (and dead) personalities.

Set in Paris's Père-Lachaise cemetery, where the august personages involved are buried, Waiting for Gertrude tells the story of a brief period when strange things begin happening among the four-legged inhabitants of the cemetery. A leap of faith of almost feline ability is required, but if the reader can accept Isadora Duncan, Colette, Chopin, and Marcel Proust (among others) reincarnated as cats, then everything that follows seems almost logical. Using letters, limericks, music, mock interviews, and press releases, Richardson builds his case well enough to spin a silly yet sophisticated tale full of clever wordplay. Toklas, the chief protagonist, is nice but dull, but her wait for Gertrude Stein, the plot's main thread, is worth slogging through for the good stuff, particularly Wilde's increasingly forlorn letters to his unattainable object of affection, a cat named Jamz. These passages ("I crave but a morsel of your affection, Jamz, but if I cannot have it, could you not at least spare me a tiny paring of your scorn?") are pure catnip. --Shawn Conner


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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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5.0 out of 5 stars A wordsmiths delight, Jul 8 2004
By Sara Moore (Chicago, Il USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This book is absolutely delicious! It is full of puns and hidden references. The exercise in devouring this little gem is worth every second. I didn't want it to end. It is a writers read as well as a readers read I recommend it to everyone who enjoys words. Don't waste another minute buy it! Doesn't hurt if you have spent time in Paris either.
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3.0 out of 5 stars An Intelllectual Fantasy, May 27 2004
By V. Marshall (North Fork, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I picked up this book after having visited the graveyards of Paris and falling in love with the artful serenity they exude.

At times witty, charming and even historical this little story takes a visit to a French graveyard into a whole other world. Famous people who reside in death at the Pere-Lachaise Cimetiere in Paris are finding theselves reincarnated into stray cats. Bill Richardson is loyal to the original historical figures and allows all their known eccentricities to remain alive within the cats. Alice B. Tolkas pines away for the return of her beloved Gertrude Stein, Jim Morrison is a swaggering sexy tomcat, Fontaine describes the cats with great poetic harmonies, Oscar Wilde falls in love with Morrison, Isadora Duncan still dances in the moonlight with ribbons, Colette still exudes desire, Maria Callas is still quite the diva, Sarah Bernhardt the consummate actress, and Proust becomes a reculsive private eye, just to name a few.

I rated this book with only 3 stars because it is a bit complex to read. The style is chaotic, bouncing around from letter, to narration, to poetry and more letters. The writing is littered with uncommon words that leave you feeling ignorant if you don't take the time to look them up. The characters are complex, of course they should be, and halfway through the book I stopped to refresh my memory on who was who before continuing on. I recommend a quickie refresher course on interesting French figures before beginning to read this story only because it allows you to grasp all the subtle nuances as you go along. All in all a GREAT idea had it been toned down to the masses but a superb book for literary snobs and the French aficionado. My favorite conversation in the book is between Oscar Wilde and Alice B. Tolkas (as cats), "Never disparage a surface. Nothing recommends beauty more than superficiality. Real beauty walks through the world uncluttered and unmasked. It dosen't hide in the earth like a truffle, attendant on the tender mercies of a passing pig." Bravo, Bill Richardson for awakening the dead!!

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5.0 out of 5 stars Part romance, part fantasy, and part satire, Oct 1 2003
By Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
Alice B. Tolkas was born in San Francisco. She eventually left the States to live with her love Gertrude Stein in Paris. Over twenty years after Gertrude died, Alice, who mourned her loss all that time, finally joins her beloved. Both are buried in the renowned Paris Pere-Lachaise Cemetery.

However, Alice fails to catch up to Gertrude wherever she is. Instead she learns why the cemetery seems to be a haven for stray cats when she is reincarnated as a feline. She soon realizes that other famous souls buried here have been reborn as cats, but alas none are her beloved Gertrude, the only person to light her fire. All she does is pass time, eats the food brought by Ondine the Spay queen, and avoids the sorcery of some of her spookier peers. For Alice is WAITING FOR GERTRUDE to join feline heaven.

Fans who appreciate a novel that is extremely weird but humorous and satirical will enjoy the odd WAITING FOR GERTRUDE. The two paragraphs above concentrate on the title player for review convenience (moi that is). However, there are several other subplots involving famous deceased that readers will be Wilde about lighting a funeral pyre and pitying poor Abelard, etc. The story line never takes itself seriously yet paints a strong message about positive relationships are important while long term quarrels, spats and everything ugly in life is a waste of time. Part romance, part fantasy, and part satire, the Monty Python crowd will be perfect for this insane look at the afterlife.

Harriet Klausner

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Alice, Isadora, Oscar, Jim and maybe Gertrude!
This book was my first introduction to the delightful world of Bill Richardson. Now all of his books are stacked up by my bedside, ready to be devoured!

Imagine Alice B. Read more

Published on Aug 7 2002

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