In Pursuit of a Vanishing Star: A Novel [Paperback]

Gustaf Sobin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2003

Drawing on the life of Greta Garbo, Gustaf Sobin spins a masterful tale about the enigmatic nature of idolatry.

Dying scriptwriter Philip Nilson spends his last days writing about a forgotten but critical moment in the life of Greta Garbo. He tracks that most elusive of film stars to an episode in Constantinople in 1924, where, under the tutelage of impresario Mauritz Stiller, Garbo emerges as one of the dominant icons of the twentieth century. Enthralled by the story, Nilson awakens to the memory of a long-forgotten first love that, he discovers, has held him in its grip for the better part of his life. This glowing novel is both a contemporary narrative celebrating a glorious moment in the history of cinema and an allegory touching upon the very meaning of existence.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A quest to capture the elusive essence of Greta Garbo's beauty sends a dying screenwriter off to Europe in Sobin's latest (after The Fly-Truffler), which begins when Hollywood writer Philip Nilson outlives a dire cancer prognosis and then manages to talk his producer friend into signing him up to write a screenplay about the mysterious film icon. Nilson finds enough research material to fill out the structural framework, but he remains haunted by his inability to formulate a scene that transforms Garbo from an ordinary working-class girl into a film goddess. His search eventually lands him in the French Alps, where he tracks down the lighting technician who helped showcase Garbo's unique sex appeal. That interview helps him understand her transformation into "that divine, profoundly dissociative creature," which happened while she was on location in Constantinople for an ill-fated film. As he continues his research, Nilson realizes that his obsession with Garbo is rooted in his obsession with an "ideal" woman, a figure most closely resembling his mother and his half-sister, with whom he almost had an affair. Sobin, also an accomplished poet, writes elegantly about Garbo's magic while tracing the time line of her career, and he manages to convey the screenwriter's effort to capture her essence. But the book's brevity makes the story seem episodic and incomplete, leaving readers to wonder what might have been if he'd used his format as a vehicle to explore Garbo's fascinating career. Instead, he provides plenty of fodder to fuel her mysterious legacy, leaving us with an ode to beauty that explores the link between our romantic preferences and the icons on the silver screen. Agent, Sabine Hrechdakian.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Sobin is an American expatriate poet living in Provence whose previous novels (The Fly-Truffler, Venus Blue) featured doomed narrators obsessed with women who were usually long dead. In his new take on that theme, Philip Nilson is a scriptwriter dying of cancer. Fueled by opiates and a commitment to finish a script about Greta Garbo, he travels to Stockholm and France in pursuit of his fixation, looking for a plot line to explain how a chubby teenager could metamorphose into a celluloid goddess idolized by the entire world. While writing about Garbo, Nilson also examines his personal lifelong obsession with his half-sister, which has effectively prevented him from committing to another relationship. This narrative about obsession, vicarious fulfillment, the nature of memory, and death is written in the overheated prose of a master poet. As both the script and Nilson's life draw to a close, the reader experiences a satisfying denouement, bringing the story full circle. Highly recommended for intelligent readers. Andrea Caron Kempf, Johnson Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Overland Park, KS

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (March 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393324001
• ISBN-13: 978-0393324006
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,032,513 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent study of the elusive, illusional in life, July 6, 2002

By 

M. J. Smith (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: In Pursuit of a Vanishing Star: A Novel (Hardcover)

This short novel is a gem -- large in scope if not in words. A script writer is dying of cancer. His double, a producer and second husband of the writer's ex-wife, offers him a project -- a gift to keep his mind on things other than dying. The book narrates the film script he is writing - a film on Greta Garbo centered on the event that turned her from another good actress to the film goddess. As he researches and writes the script, the writer comes to terms with his own elusive (illusive) love for a half-sister, to terms with living as a passive canvas versus living with self-understanding.

The book is exquisite - well researched and perceptive of people and their idols, the effect of time on changing idols. If you read for action, this is probably not to your liking. If you read to expand your understanding of humanity, this belongs on your "must read" list.

5.0 out of 5 stars in pursuit of a vanishing star: a novel, July 9, 2010

By 

Grace E. Todd (Massapequa, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: In Pursuit of a Vanishing Star: A Novel (Paperback)

this book is in super great condition, and i luv anything with Garbo involved. I got a great deal.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Creative attempt, June 18, 2003

By 

"zinequeen1" - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Pursuit of a Vanishing Star: A Novel (Hardcover)

Although I found the subject matter and the ideas explored in this novel to be intriguing, oftentimes I found them to have been presented somewhat unevenly. The accounts of Mauritz Stiller and Greta Garbo are written fluidly and recounted with a certain grace and attention to detail. At times, the language is very beautiful- Gustaf Sobin is a poet, and it is very often apparent in his writing. However, most markedly during Philip Nilson's narration, the tone seems somewhat contrived, forced- the conclusions and analyses drawn by the narrator come out in a stilted manner. Perhaps this is because he seems so self-aware that I got the impression that he believed that what he had to say was exceedingly significant. The tendency of the narrator to appear so self satisfied in his pursuit for what he seems to see as being so *very* profound, exploring ideas that "[touch] upon the very meaning of existence" (from the blurb on the back of the book) was slightly irritating for me while I was reading this book. Nevertheless, I felt that this could have been easily improved upon: especially because this is such a slim novel, and loosely written at that (134 pages, spaced more widely than most books), I can't help but feel that since there were so many wonderful ideas and language in parts of this book, Sobin could have expanded on many aspects of the novel. I believe that the most significant parts of this novel exist in the scenes recounting parts of Garbo's life, when Sobin examines the crucial moment when she makes the transformation from an innocent child into a star.

While I do agree that this novel was "large in scope if not in words," I think that as a whole, it could have been presented in a more effective manner if the character of Philip Nilson was elaborated on in a more fluid manner. Also, the author had a propensity to explain things to the reader, when it generally was not necessary. But all in all, I feel that this book was worth reading- I'm just not sure if it was worth *buying*.