| Coming
in April: "Children of the
Roses" |
The
Warren Adler E-Sheet 17
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Coming
in April: "Children of the Roses"
With the upcoming publication of
Children of the Roses next April along with the
25th Anniversary reprint of
The War of the
Roses it seems appropriate to reminisce about how this enduring
"Rose" world-wide phenomena began and continues to proliferate.
The seed for the book was planted during a dinner party in Washington
D.C. when one of the male guests, who had brought a female friend of ours, abruptly looked at his watch, stood up and announced that he had to leave. He politely explained to the astonished guests that he was in the midst of a divorce but his spouse and he were living under one roof sharing facilities under a rigid disciplined schedule.
Apparently he was under time pressure and had to come home at a certain hour or was in danger of being locked out. It was clear from his remarks that there was no love lost between him and his soon to be ex-wife and, despite the housing reality, they were obviously intensely hostile to each other.
It must be understood that we novelists have a kind of roving antenna in our minds that is continuously at work picking up signals that might find its way into an imagined story. Occasionally a
"eureka moment" implodes and the antenna sparks, lighting up the brain. I often liken it to the balloon of dialogue over a comic strip character.
Thus, the planted seed grew into the beanstalk and the tendrils and blossoms bloomed prodigiously and six months later a finished novel emerged. Bear in mind, I had never been divorced then or since and the details of this nasty marriage from hell were woven out of odd threads of the imagination. To validate the authenticity of the various details connected to legal questions I did a modicum of research.
The characters were, of course, inventions created in the mysterious cauldron of the imagination. I must admit, although it may sound pompous and high falutin, that there is indeed a "moral center" in all my novels. It manifests itself like an operating system in the background of a computer program. In this case, I was consciously telling a story of how the so-called Yuppie generation was being corrupted by greed and materialism, a phenomena that could lead some poor weak souls, like the Roses, into disaster.
As a book, my expectations were modest. Dark comedy is not necessarily a popular commodity for those readers who require familiarity, escapism and mindless entertainment. In
The War of the
Roses as in many of my books, the characters are not warm and fuzzy and often defy categorization. In Hollywood my books are dubbed "relationship novels", whatever that means. I am often baffled by such labels.
The book was quickly optioned by
David Brown and
Dick Zanuck, two fine movie producers who had both gone through divorces. In fact, many of those who showed enthusiastic interest in the book were divorced. Zanuck and Brown held the option for two years but could not get the project off the ground and the rights returned to me.
The book languished until the producer
Arnon Milchan asked his lawyer whether there was some material floating around edgy and interesting enough to make a "relationship" movie with big stars. The lawyer asked my agent who suggested my book as a
good candidate. Arnon immediately saw the movie possibilities for the book and approached the brilliant producer-director
James L. Brooks, then a recent divorcee, and the die was cast.
I mention this background trivia to provide readers with some knowledge of the travails of authors who sell their works to the movies. I have sold or optioned ten of my books to the silver screen moguls and I can say with probable accuracy that the odds of getting a book made into a movie are akin to winning the lottery.
The point of the story is that the movie came out ten years after the book was published.
Danny DeVito did a superb directorial job as did the actors
Michael Douglas and
Kathleen Turner. With the exception of some minor changes, the story miraculously followed the book and this was one time where this author can say with honesty that this adaptation was superb and reasonably accurate.
 |
| "After
all, for an author of novels, these
characters are as real to me as any
legitimate human." |
|
Somehow, the movie hit the universal gong and continues to play somewhere in the world, perhaps daily. It is, indeed, a phenomenon and, perhaps, a classic. From the author's perspective, the movie has driven many people back to the
book to understand the nuances and subtleties that simply cannot be conveyed in the film medium.
The novel has become a kind of handbook for those considering divorce and its consequences and is recommended by lawyers and psychiatrists as a must read cautionary tale when such drastic action is being considered.
I have always wondered what might have happened to the children of this ill-fated couple. After all, for an author of novels, these characters are as real to me as any legitimate human. In my book, the children were in their early teens and obviously influenced by the materialism of their parents and quite unprepared for their early demise.
At long last my curiosity has been satisfied and with the publication of the
Children of the Roses I will soon be able to share their fate with my readers.
In a world where divorce afflicts fifty percent of all marriages, the impact on the children of these broken families are profound. Surely it must be traumatic and confusing for a child, especially for those who are far too young to understand.
The idea simmered for years. I have talked to many children of divorce and have concluded that, despite some testimony to the contrary, it is a devastating experience. The hurt and sense of abandonment never goes away.
Thus, the story of the Rose children, in the author's view, had to be told. In my book, they are adults. The male, Josh is married with two young children. Evie, the female, has chosen a different life as the reader will discover. It is another dark comedy, but slightly more upbeat in intent.
Remember my earlier statement about a program operating in the background. It is operating in the
Children of the Roses as well. The Yuppie generation is no longer at issue here. New issues have emerged.
How can children cope in a fiercely competitive world within a conflicted family?
Can they goad their parents into reversing course or must they accept their fate with impunity?
Is it better for children to suffer separation than live in a warring domestic arena?
These questions are the central focus of
Children of the Roses.
I have no intentions of giving away the plot or burdening the potential reader with heavy philosophical and psychological implications. The reader will determine these issues for themselves.
I will admit, however, that the events that power the plot of this new book are often off-beat, ironic, humorous and bizarre and while my expectations are less modest than it was for the original, I am hopeful that the world-wide audiences that have enjoyed
The War of the
Roses will rise to occasion and find the sequel equally suspenseful, compelling, entertaining and insightful.
A most interesting fall-out from
The War of the
Roses has been the many comments from readers or moviegoers who write or meet me and discuss the intimate details of their nasty divorces. Some have even accused me of "stealing" their divorce, a preposterous assertion, but indicative of the extent of the pain and paranoia that a marriage breakup entails.
To my astonishment many divorced people have told me how reading
The War of the
Roses and seeing the movie had changed their lives. Some of
them have said that they had read the book or seen the movie while they were in the midst of a similar divorce and it caused them to settle their differences quickly and get on with their lives.
Others have confessed that the book depressed them and many have indicated that they left the movie tearful and upset with exposed wounds bleeding. While it is not the intention of the author to inflict pain, it is his intention to trigger insight and understanding and to make his work a life-changing experience. Frankly, such comments are mother's milk to an author and I welcome them.
Indeed, I would
love to hear from readers of this e-sheet
who have been children of divorce to e-mail
me with their experiences. With permission, I would love to publish some of
the e-mail excerpts on my
website. You can also visit the War
of the Roses Book Chat.
Children of the
Roses will be published by Sourcebooks. For further information about availability, sales, book clubs, foreign rights, excerpts etc. contact:
Barbi.Pecenco@sourcebooks.com.
Natural
Enemies
An unforgiving nature reorders an urban couple's priorities.
A young New York couple, unable to
have children and whose marriage seems to be sputtering, is advised to leave
their tense urban lives and take a vacation in a more bucolic environment.
Out
West, they are suddenly confronted by violent rednecks and chased deep into the
surrounding wilderness. Braving floods, avalanches, wild animals and human
predators, they come face-to-face with death. This test of endurance and their
passion to survive gives them new insights into themselves and their future
together.
This gripping, fast-moving, and suspenseful story will hold the
reader's interest until the last turn of the page.
Read the first chapter - Free Now!
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