A Novel
by
Four Houses. A dozen people.
All behind one ostentatious façade.
The inhabitants of the Hollywood Parade range in age from an infant to a pair of nonagenarians, and from the wealthy to welfare recipients. The actions of each affect the others as they try to navigate the various connections, resulting in breakups and new relationships, a murder, and an attempted murder. The old building itself also plays a role, as things that break or wear out force people to come together or rethink their priorities.
Nora looked up through the car's tinted window at the building’s façade with its highly decorative brickwork, arched entryways, stained glass windows, and elaborately carved cornice. The words “Hollywood Parade” were engraved into a large stone that held pride of place atop the wall. Those words thrilled her as much as they had the first time she’d read them. They had convinced her to move into the building.
A woman’s voice shattered the quiet. “Why won’t anyone get me a drink? I’m dyin’ up here.” The raspy voice emanated from the open window on the second floor of Unit 305 and carried into the clear Friday evening.
Jessica grimaced. Number 305 was the only one of the four row houses that was not owner-occupied. It belonged to a landlord Jessica had never seen. It was the source of a great deal of noise, either because of loud parties thrown by the students who lived on the ground floor, or the old woman who lived on the second floor.
Jessica had once been told that there was also a man living up there, but that he and the old woman were not related in any way. They each rented a single room, but shared a kitchen and bathroom, like a cheap rooming house. Jessica had never seen the man and had only seen the old woman once, despite frequently hearing her tirades.
Jessica held Katie a little tighter and questioned her husband’s insistence on moving into this neighbourhood.
Laurie (Deep River, ON) wrote:"I enjoyed meeting the vividly depicted inhabitants of the Hollywood Parade, each of them caught up in situations providing opportunities -- not always seized -- to get to know themselves and their neighbours better. While their lives may be complex, their stories are easy to follow thanks to Becker's novel approach to laying a trail of breadcrumbs. An enjoyable read for lovers of authors like Anne Tyler, who find novelty and humanity in the everyday."
"I really enjoyed it. I always like good sentence structure and imaginative descriptions. It was interesting to get to know the characters and then discover their story. There was lots of intrigue as we wondered what would happen in the various situations. Also loved the passing reference to visiting Aruba."
