January 16, 2009

“This One is Mine” by Maria Semple

Reviewed by Mark Lindquist
Special to the Seattle Times

Maria Semple has lived in Los Angeles and written for television shows, including “Arrested Development,” “Mad About You” and “Ellen.” According to publicity materials, she recently “escaped” L.A. and now lives with her family on “a little island off of Seattle.”

After reading “This One is Mine” (Little, Brown and Company, 400 pages, $26.99), Semple’s first novel, you will understand why. With Joan Didion’s eye for the bleak, Nathanael West’s ear for the desperate and her own taste for the comic, Semple has penned a scathing vision of show business in a repellent La-La Land.

Her heroine, Violet Parry, appears to have the life she wanted and worked for: she’s an Emmy-winning television writer married to a fabulously successful band manager. She has a child, a nanny and a dog walker. Her husband fell in love with her because, among other things, she was “an artsy chick who read the business section.”

She gave up her career to raise children after she started identifying with the ’80s T-shirt emblazoned with the Lichtenstein-like woman “who realizes, to her horror, OH, NO, I FORGOT TO HAVE CHILDREN.” After a few years as a mommy, Violet imagines there ought to be a follow-up T-shirt, one where the woman “is finally cradling her prized baby,” but the thought bubble now reads, “IT’S ALL ADDING UP TO NOTHING.”

Still, Violet is a woman who can appreciate moments and music and driving in the hills, believing that “music sounded better on Mulholland.” She channels her dissatisfaction, as many before her have, into remodeling their large house.

Life takes a lurching turn when she meets Teddy Reyes, the broke bass player for a two-bit cover band. He’s a hustler, a mooch, an addict and he has hepatitis C.

Violet is smitten, naturally.

Though it’s never clear why exactly Violet dives into a tailspin affair with Teddy the loser, it seems to have something to do with the vibe surrounding her in a city where salespeople snub women with engagement rings smaller than three carats.

Meanwhile, her husband, David, is trying, in typical L.A. fashion, to find meaning in his life through Buddhism. This leads him to a yoga retreat where he has a breakdown of sorts in a sweat lodge, one of the funniest set pieces I’ve ever read.

In another story line, David’s off- kilter sister Sally determinedly plots to lure a savant sportscaster into marriage, something the numbers geek is equally determined to avoid.

Everyone, in other words, acts borderline loony.

This might be off-putting but for Semple’s forgiving and funny voice guiding us through the nuttiness with well-grounded prose. Unlike some former television writers who turn to novels, she employs none of the cheap tricks of her previous trade.

This is not a made-for-TV movie and it doesn’t end like one. People pay for their mistakes, as we do in life, and some of them learn lessons — understanding, forgiveness, gratitude — and live on with their scars. Some leave L.A.

Matt Nagle at the Tacoma Weekly wrote a smart cover story about the transition. It’s a good read, though I might have titled it, “Planes Trains and Automobiles.”

Life Quotes

One of my rules is to not read about myself. I broke the rule for this article. People suggested I post it and another one of my rules is to not post anything I have not read. So rules were in conflict. This happens. I improvise.

Pablo Picasso said, “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” You can justify a lot of liberties with that line.

Among the things I like in the article are the quotes, including one from playwright Tom Stoppard. “Every exit is an entrance someplace else.” Other favorite quotes include advice and observations from Marcus Aurelius and Steve Jobs.

The story is another example of why weekly papers are surviving as dailies are dying. There’s a market for stories without contrived drama, hysterical headlines, and fictionalized “news,” aka tabloid journalism. That said, we might as well accept the tabloid tone of our times and keep in mind it’s all just entertainment.

Lion Air Update

The article covers our lawsuits against Boeing in the crash of Lion Air Flight JT 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302. Both crashes were due to defects in the new Boeing 737 Max 8 plane.

You can read more about it in the blog of my lawyer website, including a previous post, “Global Safety.“

I also discussed the Lion Air crash with 60 Minutes Australia, Q13 Fox News, Yahoo Finance, and other sources. There is international interest. The safety of everyone who flies on Boeing airplanes is at stake.

Jakarta to Chicago to Denver

As I told Matt, I’m blessed. In my career as a lawyer, I’ve had numerous opportunities to vigorusly advocate for people on cases of concern to the community. It’s cool to simultaneously help individuals and make everyone safer.

So far this year, I’ve spent more than three months in Indonesia. I’ve grown fond of the country and the people.

I have also been in Chicago for federal court hearings and to mediate with Boeing. I like Chicago, lots of energy. Also, my new gig took me to Denver. They preserved and restored some beautiful old brick buildings. Charles Herrmann and I played a rollicking game of shuffleboard in Union Station.

Book and Movie Recommendations

Back in the Northwest, two of my good friends had movie premieres in a one week period. Garth Stein’s bestselling novel, The Art of Racing in the Rain, is in theaters now. So is Where’d You Go Bernadette, a movie starring Cate Blanchett, based on the bestselling novel by Maria Semple.

Some of you were smart and supportive enough to snag copies signed by Maria and Garth at my campaign fundraisers, thank you. The movies are not as good as the books, but see them anyway. Support local artists. This is a good policy even when they have already sold boatloads of books.

Sloane made her red carpet movie premiere debut wearing a gray and pink dress, purple eyeglasses, and black Beatle boots. She was also featured in Matt’s Tacoma Weekly article. She turned nine in August. You can see birthday pictures on my Instagram, which is my main social media these days.

One final movie recommendation for this month: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Quentin Tarantino, the world’s most accomplished cinema geek, nails period details, bends and blends genres, and entertains you every second of the two-hour-and-forty-five-minute film.

I found the buddy story between Brat Pitt and Leonardo DeCaprio to be particularly engaging. Australian actress Margot Robbie makes the most of her supporting role as Sharon Tate. And, like other Tarantino movies, the script is chock-full of quotable lines.

“You know, you’re kind of pretty for a stuntman.”

Thanks for reading.