Chuckerman Makes a Movie by Francie Arenson Dickman
Published by She Writes Press on October 9th 2018
Genres: Humorous, Jewish, Literature & Fiction, World Literature
Format: ARC
Goodreads
“Love matters a little, but luck matters more.”
The words of thirty-five-year-old David Melman’s Jewish grandmother still haunt him. He’s scared to settle down. Instead, he dates twenty-something pop stars that he meets through his celebrity-branding business. But when his niece and nephew inform him that he’s hit “rock bottom” with his latest inappropriate relationship, David realizes that change might be in order-so when his sister Marcy, with her own ulterior motive, pushes him to take a film-writing class taught by her friend Laurel, he agrees.
Will writing a movie about a childhood visit to his grandparents in Florida, an unforgettable driving lesson, and a 1977 Cadillac bring David love? Luck? Or both?
Alternating between David’s present-day life and his past through his movie script, Chuckerman Makes a Movie is a romantic comedy blended with a comedic coming-of-age.
Every year, BookSparks has a Fall Reading Challenge, and for the 2018 edition, today’s book, Chuckerman Makes A Movie by Francie Arenson Dickman, was among them. As it turns out, even though I wasn’t actually a blogger selected to be part of the BookSparks challenge, I was able to secure a digital copy of this book for review through my relationship as a book blogger with NetGalley.
To recap on the story involved in Chuckerman Makes a Movie, we have David Melman, who is a 35 year old pursuing 20-something pop stars and is conflicted about finally settling down. He knows love – the love of his classic 1977 yellow Cadillac Coupe de Ville inherited from his grandfather, Slip Melman. Everyone in David’s life — including his young niece and nephew — thinks he needs to change his ways.
David’s sister, Marcy convinces him to take a film-writing class that’s taught by Marcy’s friend Laurel (aka “The Mormon Rodeo”). Laurel urges David to write about his beloved Cadillac, which turns into a project full of David’s recollections from a family vacation when he was just ten years old and visiting his grandparents, Slip and Estelle Melman in Miami Beach, Florida, along with dozens of other Jewish snow-birds
Melman’s screenplay serves to provide readers with a story within a story. The author has created enthusiastic characters filled with humor with great generational and cultural textures. The writing is very colorful and engaging, and I loved the characters’ strong family bonds. I also loved the romantic aspect of the story. This is definitely a great page-turner for a long weekend or a trip to the beach (for us here in sunny Florida)!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR (by the author): I’ve been writing my whole life. My novel, Chuckerman Makes a Movie, will be published by She Writes Press this October. However, I published my first book, Winter Poems, in third grade with the help of the librarian at Kennedy School in Highland Park, Illinois.
Third grade was only the beginning for me as far as writing goes. I went on to journal my every move, which included attending college at the University of Michigan— where I was a reporter for the Michigan Daily and the writer of award-winning skits for my sorority—and getting my J.D. at The George Washington School of Law in Washington, DC.
While I worked as a litigator, I spent a lot of time in my cubby writing a book about a “fictional” young lawyer who had no interest in practicing law. Eventually, I quit the law and became a full-time writer. I began by writing all kinds of copy, whatever work I could get. I wrote everything from traditional marketing materials, catalog copy and annual reviews to newsletters and white papers. I also produced web content for big companies like Whole Foods and Chase Bank, for not-for profits like the United Way and Northwestern Memorial Hospital Foundation.
In 2001, around the time my twin daughters were born, I began to focus solely on creative writing. For years now, I’ve been a member of a writing group, the Wesley Writers led by authors Steve and Sharon Fiffer of Evanston, Illinois. My essays have appeared in a variety of publications. They have also served as performance material for the Moth, Listen to Your Mother, Chicago 2016 and TEDX Chicago 2018.
When I’m not in front of my computer, I can be found in front of my TV. Or walking Pickles, my dog. Or doing a spin class. Or complaining about making dinner. I live outside of Chicago, in the same town in which I grew up, Highland Park, Illinois.
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I have received an advanced reader digital copy of this book through NetGalley, and I’m posting as part of the BookSparks Fall Reading Challenge 2018 (FRC#2018).
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