"Ambitious . . . Written in spare, fractured prose from the perspective of a narrator who seems to be reporting from inside Laurel's mind . . . Evoke[s] the style of Samuel Beckett."—Jason Zinoman, The New York Times
"John Connolly's he is a brilliant view of a comic's life. It is a biographical look at Laurel and Hardy, warts and all, with liberties taken. The first chapter seizes the reader by the end of the first page and never lets go. A new type of story told by a masterful mystery writer. 'A' all the way."—Philip Zozzaro, Seattle Book Review
"[John Connolly's he] rings a Joycean tone, and the novel has lovely poetical flourishes . . . The novel, copiously researched, captures Hollywood's Golden Age in flickering moments and flashing epiphanies that can be returned to, such is their appeal. For fans of the era and the beloved comedy team, this is a moving and thrilling read."
—Lara Rae, Winnipeg Free Press
"He is a labor of love . . . This is a work of fiction, based on facts, and Connolly projects, extrapolates, and takes chances."
—Joe Hartlaub, bookreporter
"With only the pronouns of 'he' or 'him,' author John Connolly reimagines [comedian Stan] Laurel in both abstract and three-dimensional ways, getting to the soul of Laurel, the comic, the multi-married, forever-in-debt-with-alimony and alcoholic . . . Gracefully written."
—Oline Cogdill, Associated Press
"The subject of this extraordinary novel is Stan Laurel . . . The novel cycles back and forth across the comic's long and often harrowing career—drinking, womanizing, seven marriages to four women. He reminisces on his successes and failures but most of all on the loss of Babe, his mate, who completed a sad man who otherwise never felt whole . . . Exceptional. Who wouldn't want to read this lovely book?"
—David Keymer, Library Journal (Starred Review)
"Connolly's tender double portrait [of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy] is a love story about the astoundingly loyal friendship between these two quiet, immensely talented yet equally troubled men as they navigated the corrupt studio system, their failed marriages, the invasive press, and battles with their own demons . . . The golden age of Hollywood is vividly and authentically drawn, with asides about the gossip, bed-hopping, drug use, untimely deaths, and subsequent obituaries that began with the phrase, 'Formerly in Pictures.' This dazzling and altogether wonderful book sets a new standard for the biographical historical novel."
—Booklist (Starred Review)
"The life and art of Stan Laurel, from vaudeville and silent movies to the talkies and old age, is explored in this artful novel . . . The book's great love story is that of Laurel mourning and yearning for his late partner [Oliver Hardy], still writing routines for the two of them, rehearsing them by himself. It's the best tribute to this novel that by the end of it you feel you have been given the full texture of a life."
—Kirkus Reviews
"Anybody who absolutely loved Laurel and Hardy will be thrilled with this masterpiece from John Connolly. This is a stunning work that places readers into the Golden Age of Hollywood where they meet, greet, and embrace a duo who built a comedic partnership that ended up lasting long after they departed this world."
—Suspense Magazine
"In short, poetic chapters, Connolly reveals a complicated artist journeying from vaudeville to silent film to starring in talking pictures . . . This story of good, bad, and necessary choices speaks to the triumphs and heartbreaks experienced by everyone treading this stage called life."
—Pop Culture Nerd
"A gorgeous character study and an unforgettable love story."
—Elaine Petrocelli, Book Passage
"This is a book about love: love of women, love of men, love of art, love of comedy . . . What catapults the reader straight into Hollywood's Golden Age is the enormous amount of research and passion that lies behind he. When those researched details coalesce, a world of Dickens-like detail leaps off the page."—Martina Evans, The Irish Times
"There is little here of the lovable innocence of [Stan Laurel's] screen persona. Instead we are shown a troubled, difficult man who drinks heavily, screws up his relationships with women, and broods about the unmatchable genius of Charlie Chaplin . . . Laurel is never referred to by name, only as 'he,' but every other man in the book has his name written out in full. Initially disconcerting, the usage soon comes to seem no more than a further reflection of the originality of this fine novel."—Nick Rennison, The Sunday Times
"It's not often you get an evocation of a friendship so deep and tender between two men in fiction . . . A wonderful story of love, of unabiding loyalty."—Declan Burke, RTE
"Delightfully eccentric . . . In he, the lonely comic [Stan Laurel] is haunted by Oliver Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, and ghosts of lovers past."—James Kidd, South China Morning Post
"John Connolly has skillfully recreated the unseen side of a perceived golden age and yet it is also a compassionate study of the tensions between commercial demands and popularity and the almost unattainable artistic integrity gifted people destroy themselves in pursuit of; for all that it is no less a love letter to one of the most enduring and beloved partnerships in cinema history."—Malachy Coney
"Rewarding and uplifting. Connolly has stepped outside the crime genre to publish a literary novel of real merit."—Nudge Books
"John Connolly's new book is a fascinating look at the Golden Age of Hollywood through the eyes of one of the finest comedians ever to grace the silver screen. This is a book full of history, full of sadness and joy, replete with fascinating characters. Connolly's greatest achievement here is that he makes you forget that this is fiction, that this comes from his imagination. Connolly makes you believe that this is what Stan Laurel must have been like because it is a book that speaks true. I applaud him for that. Read it now."—Shots Magazine
"An invaluable feel for a period and a fascinating, if awkward, personality. Writing the story as a novel rather than just a straight biography gives the tale an extra layer of humanity and reality."—Crime Time
"Charts the evolution of comedy in Hollywood during its first half century with a keen eye to detail . . . An entertaining account of early-twentieth-century celebrity and the two men whose lives to posterity 'have become reflections, each of the other, an infinity of echoes.'"—Huston Gilmore, The Daily Express
"In his latest stand-alone novel, he, Connolly fulfills a ten-year passion to present the life of one of our most beloved icons, Stan Laurel. Fans of Connolly will be awed at this new literary work in a very different voice."
—Richard Klinzman, The Florida Times-Union
He
Narrated by Simon Slater
John ConnollyUnabridged — 11 hours, 30 minutes
He
Narrated by Simon Slater
John ConnollyUnabridged — 11 hours, 30 minutes
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Overview
Editorial Reviews
2018-02-20
The life and art of Stan Laurel, from vaudeville and silent movies to the talkies and old age, is explored in this artful novel.It's easy to see what doesn't quite work in this retelling of Laurel's life. Connolly (A Game of Ghosts, 2017, etc.) has made his name as a crime writer, and at times the blunt, spare, deliberately repetitive prose seems like a self-conscious attempt to be literary on the part of someone concerned about being snobbishly dismissed as a genre writer. At times, Connolly reaches for lyricism and finds only sentimentality. At times he employs a too-easy psychoanalyzing that reduces characters—and which stands out in a novel that insists on the complexity of humans and their motives. But the flaws are finally no match for the affection that the author feels for his subject, for the genuine melancholy that wells up as Laurel remembers his past from the comfort of the small apartment in Santa Monica where he spent his last years and for the intelligence and decency with which Connolly handles potentially salacious material. The Stan Laurel we know from the screen, that gentle, befuddled soul, was different from the man who made bad marriages and for many years sought refuge from the pain of those marriages in booze. The book is too smart to use that gap between public persona and private life to treat Laurel's art as if it were a lie. Almost all the characters here are based on real people, and even the genuine bastards are granted the status of full human beings. Oliver Hardy, known to all as Babe, is granted considerably more, and he comes across as a mountainous angel of a man. The book's great love story is that of Laurel mourning and yearning for his late partner, still writing routines for the two of them, rehearsing them by himself. It's the best tribute to this novel that by the end of it you feel you have been given the full texture of a life.This exploration of how art often diverges from the reality of the artist's life is not only moving, but also bracingly adult.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940173604859 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Hachette Audio |
| Publication date: | 05/01/2018 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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