New York: HarperCollins, 1992. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. A crisp clean first edition (as stated)not an ex-lib edition: Though Cadence Roth, the heroine of Maupin's captivating novel, is only 31 inches tall (she is said to have held the title the World's Shortest Mobile Adult Human in the Guinness Book ofRecords), her impact on the reader's emotions is enormous. In choosing this diminutive woman to dramatize the role of an outsider, Maupin draws parallels between the way small people and others who are thought to deviate from the norm, such as gays, lesbians, blacks and Jews-are mocked and dehumanized. He does this skillfully and delicately, with humor and compassion, meanwhile telling a suspenseful story whose subtly foreshadowed ending delivers a dramatic clout. At 30, Cady is a has-been in Hollywood. A decade earlier, she had portrayed an adorable elf in a film that captured Americas heart. But since there are few movie opportunities for dwarfs, her career as an actress and singer has skittered downhill. Cady chronicles her gutsy attempts to earn her livelihood in funny and poignant journal entries, her irreverent voice spiked with trendy movie-town lingo. She is offhand about the handicaps small persons must endure: what it's like to be patronized and treated like a child, to walk in a forest of legs, to be unable to turn on the shower or close the bathroom door-and to yearn for romantic relationships and a sex life. Under the clever patter and black humor, however, Cady fiercely and wistfully conveys her need to be viewed like everyone else. Maupin (Sure of You) surrounds Cady with other appealing outsiders a black pianist, a gay writer, Cady's spacey housemate. But tiny Cad.

Synopsis

Maybe the Moon, Armistead Maupin's first novel since ending his bestselling Tales of the City series, is the audaciously original chronicle of Cadence Roth -- Hollywood actress, singer, iconoclast and former Guiness Book record holder as the world's shortest woman. All of 31 inches tall, Cady is a true survivor in a town where -- as she says -- "you can die of encouragement." Her early starring role as a lovable elf in an immensely popular American film proved a major disappointment, since moviegoers never saw the face behind the stifling rubber suit she was required to wear. Now, after a decade of hollow promises from the Industry, she is reduced to performing at birthday parties and bat mitzvahs as she waits for the miracle that will finally make her a star. In a series of mordantly funny journal entries, Maupin tracks his spunky heroine across the saffron-hazed wasteland of Los Angeles -- from her all-too-infrequent meetings with agents and studio moguls to her regular harrowing encounters with small children, large dogs and human ignorance. Then one day a lanky piano player saunters into Cady's life, unleashing heady new emotions, and she finds herself going for broke, shooting the moon with a scheme so harebrained and daring that it just might succeed. Her accomplice in the venture is her best friend, Jeff, a gay waiter who sees Cady's struggle for visibility as a natural extension of his own war against the Hollywood Closet. As clear-eyed as it is charming, Maybe the Moon is a modern parable about the mythology of the movies and the toll it exacts from it participants on both sides of the screen. It is a work that speaks to the resilience of the human spirit from a perspective rarely found in literature.

Reviews

(Log in or Create an Account first!)

Details

Seller: Infinity Books Japan (JP)
Seller's Inventory #: RWARE0000021447
Title: Maybe the Moon: A Novel
Author: Maupin, Armistead
Format/Binding: Hardcover
Book Condition: Used - Very Good/Very Good
Quantity Available: 1
ISBN 10: 0060165529
ISBN 13: 9780060165529
Publisher: HarperCollins
Place of Publication: New York
Date Published: 1992

Terms of Sale

Infinity Books Japan

We return books after seven days, if the customer is not 100% happy with our transaction.

About the Seller

Infinity Books Japan

This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.

Biblio member since 2006

Tokyo

Ask Seller a Question

About Infinity Books Japan

Infinity Books Japan,was founded in the year 2002, we pride ourselves in being there for our customers, we deal in, used, rare, out of print and first editions.

Glossary

Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

First Edition: In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
Crisp: A term often used to indicate a book's new-like condition. Indicates that the hinges are not loosened. A book described as crisp...