Uncle Adolph's Cruise of Fiction by Richard
Seltzer
56,874 words)
Literary fiction, consisting of love stories --
romantic, humorous, and insightful
Imagine Mark Twain, O. Henry, and Ambrose
Bierce swapping stories.
Nine people on a Caribbean cruise share stories
at dinner for seven days. The ring-master is Uncle Adolph, a
larger-than-life figure, who looks like W.C. Fields, spouts wit
and stumbles into wisdom.The stories
range from the real to the fantastic, they include near-magical
romantic coincidences as well as tragedy. Some are light-hearted,
humorous, and racey. Others should bring you to the brink of
tears.
The stories are woven together so you learn of
the tellers as well as their tales. You come to feel that you are
with them, sharing shipboard life and joining them for dinner each
night, as the dramas of their personal lives, past and present,
unfold. Having been randomly seated at the same table, they become
like family members.
The story tellers include:
Beth and Harry, skilled at seeing threads of
fated romance;
Randy and Jane, adept at recognizing and
telling lies;
Thelma and Stanley, sex-crazed eighty-year-old
newlyweds;
Roxanne AKA Deep Pockets, AKA Hot Pockets, AKA
Deep Throat;
Jim, the narrator, recovering from loss and
hoping for a new beginning.
As Adolph toasts near the end, "To the
newlyweds, to the newly knocked up, to the soon-to-be perpetual
cruisers, to the receiver of messages from beyond, and to my fair
lady, the fairest of the fair."
Comparables --
The Paris Affair by Tatiana de Rosnay
Bradbury's Stories by Ray Bradbury
Related non-fiction --
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
Movies with a similar flavor (since this is a
natural for a movie) --
Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry met Sallie,
Big, Prelude to a Kiss, Roman Holiday, Princess Bride, Midnight in
Paris, Fading Gigolo, Only You
Other movies alluded to: