Missing Reels - Hardcover

Nehme, Farran Smith

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0715649906 ISBN 13: 9780715649909

Publisher: Overlook Press, 2016

Synopsis

New York in the late 1980s. Ceinwen Reilly has just moved from Yazoo City, Mississippi, and she s never going back, minimum wage job and shabby apartment be damned. Who cares about earthly matters when Ceinwen can spend her days and her nights at the repertory houses and most of the time that s left trying to look like Jean Harlow? By chance Ceinwen discovers that her downstairs neighbor may have just possibly starred in a forgotten silent film that hasn t been seen for ages. So naturally, it s time for a quest. She will track down the missing reels, she will impress her neighbor, and she will become a part of movie history: the archivist as ingenue. As she embarks on her grand mission, Ceinwen meets a somewhat bumbling, very charming 100% English math professor named Matthew, who is as rational as she is dreamy. Together, they will or will not discover the missing reels, will or will not fall in love, and will or will not encounter the obsessives that make up the New York silent film nut underworld. A novel as winning and energetic as the grand Hollywood films that inspired it, Missing Reels is an irresistible, alchemical mix of Nora Ephron and David Nicholls that will charm and delight"

About this title

Review:

A winning valentine to old movies, falling in love and eighties New York--and how best enjoy all three at the same time. Nehme's lovers spar like the best screwball couples, their delicious verbal sallies a brave, brainy attempt to avoid flying straight into one another's arms. -- Tom Shone, former "Sunday Times" film critic and author of "Blockbuster: How Hollywood Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Summer " With the same combination of passion, precision and generosity that she brings to her film criticism, Farran Smith Nehme has crafted a lovely, witty and empathetic novel that effortlessly captures New York City in the late 1980s, a moment when being obsessed with movies took--and rewarded--a bit of legwork. -- Mark Harris, former executive editor for "Entertainment Weekly" and author of "Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War" "Missing Reels" is as funny and satisfying as a classic Hollywood romantic comedy and as absorbing as the most intricately plotted detective story. It is also an intensely loving, convincingly detailed, elegantly shaped, and thoroughly knowledgable tribute to the glory and heartache of working in the movies and being a hardcore movie fan, written by one of the best writers on the movies that we have ever had. -- Dan Callahan, author of "Barbara Stanwyck: The Miracle Woman Nehme seamlessly weaves film titles, trivia and technical lore into her debut novel. Her pacing is exhilarating . . . Ceinwen and Matthew patter at a speed Katherine Hepburn would admire. Simply grand; this tale begs to be filmed. * Kirkus (starred review) * I love this book: it's witty and sharp and feminine and fabulous. If you know how to pronounce Borzage, if the mere mention of a nitrate copy of Flaming Youth sets your heart a-flutter and if you've ever worn a scarf in your hair and hoped you looked like Clara Bow, then this is the novel for you. * Silent London * Farran Smith Nehme packs the story with tidbits of classic movie knowledge that are sure to delight cinema lovers..."Missing Reels" offers a fresh take on the traditional coming-of-age in New York story. * BookPage * What makes Farran's book particularly bracing is that, as romantic comedies go, it's as tart as it is sweet, maybe even more so...what ["Missing Reels"] actually is, its considerable human wisdom aside, is a paragon of wit, a beautifully plotted story, and a romping good read. * Some Came Running * The book is filled with knowing references to silent films and classic Hollywood fare, and is written in the endearingly sarcastic tone that Nehme's fans will recognize. * BookReporter * Nehme snares the reader with dry wit, portraits of film stars of the past, and dynamic, unconventional protagonists. * Publishers Weekly * Nehme knows how to mix real-life history with fictional directors, actors, and films, making the true stuff just as compelling as the imagined. By the end you ll be desperate to see" The Mysteries of Udolpho. "A- * Entertainment Weekly * Farran Smith Nehme is the esteemed classic Hollywood devotee who blogs as Self Styled Siren, so it s no surprise that her debut novel is set in the world of New York City s repertory cinema circuit . . . Witty and twisty, the book s larded with a variety of deep-dish film citations the Siren s been annotating at her blog. * Filmmaker Magazine * Artfully fresh and intriguing...A leap back in time to 1980s Manhattan, where silent film and vintage clothing interwine in a radical tale of romance and mystery. * Shelf Awareness * Utterly distinctive and delightfully readable...Here is a book that converses with classic film and New York and the opposite sex by a writer many more people need to know. * Buffalo News * Highly recommended for film lovers; old-school detective story buffs and researchers will enjoy following the drawn-out mystery aspects. The entire novel, particularly the Ceinwen/Matthew dynamic, is satisfyingly motion picture worthy * Library Journal * It had a great pseudo-mystery, some completely relatable (annoyingly so) romance and vivid descriptions of both 1980s New York City and early 20th-century Hollywood. * Romantic Times * Like Nora Ephron s best work, Missing Reels is more about ardor for the movies and how love is portrayed in them, than love itself. The novel also serves as a tribute to cinephiles romance of Hollywood s creative heyday. * Washington Post *

About the Author:

FARRAN SMITH NEHME has been writing about classic film at her blog, "Self-Styled Siren," since 2005. She also is currently a freelance movie reviewer for the "New York Post," and her film writing has appeared in "The New York Times," "Barron s "magazine, "Cineaste "magazine, "The Baffler," and many other publications. In 2008 she was named Film Blogger of the Year by "GQ" s Tom Carson. She lives in New York City." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About this edition

• Publisher: Overlook Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0715649906
• ISBN 13: 9780715649909
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352