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4-F Blues: A Novel of WWII Hollywood

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As I was browsing through my usual section of non fiction material, I suppose "By Chance" I came across a most delightful fiction based on fact book entitled 4 F blues. This book is about world war 2 and Hollywood and takes place in an era slightly before my time. As I went to bed that night, at midnight, I planned to read a few pages before falling asleep, and low and behold I could not put this book down until I finished it at 3 am! 4 F blues is humerous and it has an easy flow to read. It is not written as some books I have read where the descriptions are so flowery that I lost sight of the plot. I actually became so engrossed with the plot and setting, that for 3 hours I felt that I knew the characters personally, and lived there during that time period. The author was able to take sensitive subjects such as WW II, Hollywood politics, and the Japanese Internment Camps and to create a fun and humerous, yet very empowering book. The main characters withhold their highest personal integrity, even with all odds against them. For me it was a nostalgic look at a Hollywood of the past, the glamour, an inside look, and the reality that movies and their characters reflect our history and the mindset of the people during a particular era. Speaking of movies I feel that this book would make a great uplifting movie.

From the outset, you want to read the book because it is so action-packed and then you start realizing the humor of it. You immediately like the main character, Tom, who goes through so many trials and comes out successful. The villains, who are terrible and despicable, grab your interest as well. The book takes many twists and turns that hold your attention from start to finish and, interspersed throughout, is this remarkable humor and even in intense situations you find yourself chuckling.

This is a very fun book to read.

This book is a great trip into the nostalgic world of Hollywood and the Movie Stars in the WWII era. This evokes the time when all young want-to-be actresses thought they could go to Hollywood and be discovered and be a star, if only they had a great figure, a tight sweater, shiney blonde hair and money for a coke at Schwab's Drug Store. This is a great summer read and will be particularly applealing to anyone who is interested in how Americans thought and behaved during WWII.Rubin has an uncanny ability to create a great mystery, highlighted with international intrique, an expose of the old Hollywood studio system and wrap it all up into a witty and provocative tale reminiscent of Woody Allen's "Radio Days."

Charles has such a talent for keeping the pages turning, and turning, even though the eyesight is beginnng to get blurry.

I may read this all over, I loved being in that space and time of our Country.

Thanks Charles!
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Shari Star Dewar

Mr. Rubin had me totally immersed into this fast-paced cinematic novel of World War II. I simply could not "put the book down" till reading the words "The End" (Actually a few pages after that...) The rock-solid heroes and double-faced villains, the mad Führer and his cartoonesque lieutenants, Hollywood war-time propaganda movie-makers and abused japanese-americans: all are casted in this production screening in my mind's theater over and over again.
4-F Blues: A Novel of WWII Hollywood.

I loved the glitz and glamour and inner workings of Hollywood and with the overlay of WWII, Charles Rubin has exquisitely woven a wonderful story in a wonderful time. I loved being there. The characters are a diverse group, glamorous, tough, compassionate, calculating and more, each adding a new dimension to a book to become absolutely engrossed in. Oh, and I found myself smiling a lot.

You will just love this book! It is just like one of the great movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Just like wanting to watch your favorite movie over and over again, you will want to read this book again and again. I would love to see a movie made from it!

In a very witty, engaging manner, the author has captured the machinations of Hollywood during those years when the escapist entertainment of the cinema was so important. His depiction of Maggie Graym, a Hollywood name if ever there was one, rings very true from all we know of the lives of the stars. The made-in-Hollywood marriages which thrilled fans also are revealed for their falseness. All this with humor makes for a great read.

A well-written fictional look back on the Hollywood war era with lots of interesting historical information which may or may not be factual. The characterers are believable and I am happy to say the hero and heroine along with a few others remain honorable while others around them have ulterior motives that are less than honorable. The wry sense of humor with which this book is written makes it an enjoyable read.

A well-written fictional look back on the Hollywood war era with lots of interesting historical information which may or may not be factual. The characterers are believable and I am happy to say the hero and heroine along with a few others remain honorable while others around them have ulterior motives that are less than honorable. The wry sense of humor with which this book is written makes it an enjoyable read.