Last Tango in Brooklyn (G K Hall Large Print Book Series) [Hardcover]

Kirk Douglas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1994 | Series: G K Hall Large Print Book Series

In this, his most satisfying novel so far, Kirk Douglas exhibits the brilliant versatility that he has showcased so vividly in his many decades as an actor. Here he tells the story of two ordinary people caught up in extraordinary circumstances - circumstances that wait right around the corner for each one of us. Ellen, a small-town girl from upstate New York, is trying to make it as a modern woman in the big city. She is doing well in her career as the librarian of a large Brooklyn hospital, but her personal life is a mess. Her boyfriend, Richard, a world-renowned heart transplant specialist, is unfaithful. Her roommate has moved out leaving her with a mountain of unpaid bills. She is broke. Then she meets Ben at a screening of Last Tango in Paris. Ben, a fitness instructor, is twice her age, but he is a vigorous man able to challenge and out-perform men young enough to be his sons. A recent widower, Ben is frantically scrambling to find a temporary place to live, because his house in Flatbush has sold much faster than he expected. Ellen rents Ben a room, but what begins as friendly business relationship slowly turns into something more. Ben feels a surge of vitality in which passion knows no age and no limits. Ellen, full of life spirit, and mischief, seems his perfect match. Yet Ellen and Ben's startling and consuming affair faces a gulf even wider than the gap that separates May and December. Ellen's best friend is appalled, Ben's daughter, a psychologist, condemns their relationship as a Freudian nightmare. A terrible accident and then a mysterious death - which could be murder - threaten to doom their love. Soon, life's expectations shatter on the rocks of the unexpected. Roleschange in astonishing ways. Yet, ultimately, Ellen and Ben's love will prove stronger than reason - in a powerful finale than will haunt the reader long after he or she has closed the book.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The celebrated actor-turned-author ( Dance with the Devil ; The Gift ) serves up some interest and a few surprises in his third novel, but ultimately this hackneyed tale of a May/December romance between an aging personal trainer and a young medical librarian suffers from too many cliches. After a chance meeting, Ben and Ellen cohabit when Ellen's previous roommate leaves her with a stack of bills and Ben's house is tied up in escrow following the death of his wife. When Ellen's boyfriend, Richard, a world-famous heart transplant specialist at the hospital where both work, betrays her for a sexy nurse, Ben convinces Ellen that age and beauty are a compatible combination, despite the fact that virtually everyone around them disapproves of their relationship. Several trite subplots include Ben's near-fatal helicopter crash, Richard's scheme to procure a heart illegally so he can save a dying Japanese millionaire and, as the book ends, the vague possibility of an illness that could incapacitate Ellen. Douglas's rudimentary storytelling skills are stretched beyond their limits in this one. Author tour .
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Douglas seems to have found a new career as an author, although the jury is still out on whether he qualifies as a writer or a typist. Nevertheless, his previous novels were both best sellers; also, his protagonist in Last Tango is a Brooklyn hospital librarian.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 394 pages
• Publisher: G K Hall & Co (November 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816174652
• ISBN-13: 978-0816174652
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,658,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As beautiful as it gets, August 6, 2002

By 

"onefunnybunny" (Niles, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Last Tango in Brooklyn (G K Hall Large Print Book Series) (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful book full of passion and desire, of love and the unexpected. It's delightful to read, and you wouldn't be able to put it down once you started reading. You'll get to feel the writer's work, and you'll live the moments as though they were your own, wishing you can make them true at some point in your life.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Story, August 27, 2001

By 

Virginia McCubbin "Wilbur Smith fan" (Green Valley, Az USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Last Tango in Brooklyn (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a beautiful story written by an excellent writer. It has mystery and romance between 2 people you wouldn't expect it from. The best he has written!

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars TANGO, TANGO, TANGO!!!!, February 8, 2003

By 

Beverly C. Sanders (USA, Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Last Tango in Brooklyn (Hardcover)

I read this book many years ago but I remember it very much. Aside from being written by a romatic lead star, Kirk Douglas, the love story he tells warms your heart. I was very surprised with the pain of the love story and what these two lovers had to go through.

It was sad that these two lovers had a very short time together before the end came. He was older than his love interest but she was seriously ill. They resolved their differences by going to the end together in Brooklyn.