Graveyard for Lunatics, A (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Once upon a time there were two cities within a city..." (more)
Key Phrases: clay beast, graveyard for lunatics, clay bust, Manny Leiber, Brown Derby, Fritz Wong (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hollywood, Halloween night, 1954. At a midnight party in a graveyard adjacent to the studio where he works, the sci-fi screenwriter/narrator glimpses the dangling papier-mache corpse (or real body?) of a film magnate presumed killed exactly 20 years earlier. Then a prop man (or his effigy) is hanged, or else is on the run, and another studio hand is murdered. A Beast is loose, attempting to instill panic on the set, perhaps to cover up what really happened two decades ago. Bradbury eventually ties up the loose ends in a loopy funhouse of a novel peopled with a monocled, imperious Austrian-Chinese director; Lenin's ex-makeup man, from the Kremlin; a gaunt, sermonizing actor named Jesus Christ; a feisty ex-movie queen who demands that "J.C." bless her; and other oddballs. Madness, blackmail, murder and mayhem spell tricks and treats as Bradbury toes the fine line between reality and illusion.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA-- A multilevel story about a man for whom the movies have been a childhood obsession, an adult vocation, and ultimately a horrible, mysterious collision of past and present. Set in a Hollywood film studio back lot, the book presents an interweaving of real film stars of the past and of current productions. Vivid descriptions of the studio world and the real world take readers on a fascinating tour of reality and illusion, both superbly drawn. Film buffs will revel in the inside atmosphere, and mystery fans will enjoy the complicated kaleidoscopic plot. Once again, Bradbury combines the real and the imaginary in a fascinating tale. --Peggy Hecklinger, R. E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 285 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; 1st THUS edition (December 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553354779
• ISBN-13: 978-0553354775
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,398,081 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bradbury continues the magic, this time in Hollywood., February 22, 2002

By	Mary Whipple (New England) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

This review is from: A Graveyard for Lunatics: Another Tale of Two Cities (Paperback)

Setting this novel during the glory days of Big Studio Hollywood, in which he himself was an earnest young screenwriter, Ray Bradbury sets out to create a murder mystery in which a twenty years-dead body is found on a ladder leaning against a wall between a graveyard and the movie studio next door. Over-the-top Hollywood characters and wannabes, "beasts" and monsters, and faux settings, such as Notre Dame, Calvary, and even the speaker's grandparents' house in Green Town, Illinois, fill this book with the illusions in which the film industry excels, while the machinations of ego-driven moguls provide motivations for murder.

No one should read this novel expecting a hard-boiled mystery, however. Bradbury's obvious love of people and of life itself is so heartfelt and overwhelming that it makes any sense of toughness unbelievable--and there are many other reasons to enjoy this book. Grounded by Midwestern values, fundamentally decent, and lacking the ego which seems to drive the rest of the industry, Bradbury shines in describing a mad Hollywood, "where great elephant ideas go to die. A graveyard for lunatics," where men so dedicate their lives to the creation of illusions that they often lose sight of reality. His wacky imagination flourishes, and it is clear that despite his sometimes flippant, tongue-in-cheek observations, his irony, and his criticism of Hollywood excess, that he loves the place and the exotic characters he meets there.

With imagery and descriptions that bring to life every aspect of studio activity, trenchant philosophical observations inserted casually (almost as throwaways), self-deprecating humor, and visions of plain folks challenging the studio bigwigs, Bradbury's mystery ambles toward an almost amiable conclusion. For the lover of Bradbury, this is another chance to share his visions and his enthusiasm for a life lived honestly. Most readers will undoubtedly share the feelings of Constance, who tells speaker/Bradbury, "How lucky to be inside your skin...Don't ever change. We stupid doomsayers, cynics, monsters laugh, but we need you. Otherwise, Merlin dies, or a carpenter fixing the Round Table saws it crooked, or the guy who oils the armor substitutes cat pee. Live forever. Promise?" Mary Whipple

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fans of Hollywood History - Rejoice!, June 30, 2000

By	Suzanne DiRocco (Corona, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Graveyard for Lunatics (Hardcover)

WOW! From the moment I saw the cover winking at me in the Cal State Fullerton bookstore 12 years ago, this has been my favorite book af all time! Mr. Bradbury mixes up a concoction of murder, mystery, and the Golden Age of movies and studio heads to delight the reader. His character development and authenticity ring true to anyone who has ever seen a silent film or a great science fiction epic of the 1950's. I just can't say enough about this book! It is one of the few that I take the time to go back and read over and over again like a chance meeting of old, comfortable friends (and according to my grandfather, Herb Hinthorne, Mr. Bradbury used to be the kid in rollerskates all over Hollywood - he often skated into Henry's, an old restaurant on Hollywood Blvd. where my grandfather hung out with his waitress-mom, looking for the movie stars!). Get your hands on a copy of this book, and enjoy!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incomparable, October 24, 1998

By A Customer

Another semi-autobiographical mystery written by Ray Bradbury, this sequel to "Death is a Lonely Business" is not only a superb work of fiction, it gives insights into Ray Bradbury's own life. This one centers around Bradbury's days as a screenwriter working with Ray Harryhausen. They look for the perfect monster for their new horror movie, but when they find it they stir up a coverup decades old. The description of a poor disfigured face is phenomenal. A highly recommend this book to any Bradbury fan.