{"product_id":"edward-guthmann-don-t-cry-for-me-west-covina-9798218580209","title":"Don't Cry For Me, West Covina","description":"In his 2017 memoir Wild Seed: Searching for My Brother Dan, journalist and author Edward Guthmann described a family tragedy and its aftermath. In Don't Cry for Me, West Covina, a new collection of 25 personal essays, he circles back once again -- this time in a lighter vein. In the title chapter Guthmann recalls his hometown of West Covina, a Los Angeles suburb that frustrated him with its conformity and provincialism, but provided an impetus to explore a much broader canvas. We see him falling in love with movies at an early age (\"It Started with Fred Astaire\"); landing a role on the professional stage (\"The Year I Played in Oliver!\"); protesting the Vietnam War during the nationwide student strike of 1970 (\"Breaking the Redwood Curtain\"); leaving the cozy college town of Arcata for the frenzy of San Francisco (\"A Dive in the Deep End\"); and building a career as a San Francisco Chronicle arts reporter and reviewer (\"Confessions of a Recovering Movie Critic\").Guthmann introduces his imperious paternal aunt (\"Aunt Rollie Conquers the Universe\"), and the loquacious rapscallion Mamie Jackson, whose language has a \"cascading musical quality\" and an urge to shock. We travel with him to Las Vegas when the town was still small and ruled by the Mob; to Europe, where he spent one summer on a $5-a-day allowance; to Cameroun, where his mother and four aunts lived as young girls and befriended a baby gorilla, Bushman, who became a star attraction at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.At turns witty and tender, playful and nostalgic, the stories in this collection reflect the author's wide-ranging, lifelong curiosity.","brand":"Shafter Avenue Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53794456928598,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/www.momoxbooks.com\/products\/edward-guthmann-don-t-cry-for-me-west-covina-9798218580209","provider":"momoxbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}