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"The Children of the Roses" - Coming to
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The
Warren Adler E-Sheet 24
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Greetings
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We
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"The Children of the Roses"
to Launch
The
Children of the Roses, published by
Sourcebooks in hardcover, is now shipping to
bookstores. A newly published edition of
The War of the Roses, also by
Sourcebooks, will accompany
it in Trade paperback. Both books can be pre-ordered online at
bookseller sites, including
Amazon and
Barnes and Noble.
Little did
I realize when I wrote
The War of the Roses in 1979, that
it would become a world-wide phenomenon,
spawning a movie classic that continues to
be shown around the globe with a great
frequency. The title is now in common use in
legal circles to describe a nasty divorce
and the book is used as text in
Universities.
Law schools
use it to teach the intricate emotional
effects that surface in divorces and Medical
schools in psychiatric courses use it to
illustrate the psychological effects of
anger and domestic warfare.
For years,
I have considered the saga of the Roses
unfinished and pondered the effects that the
battle between the Roses would have on their
offspring. Readers mesmerized by the
terrible events on the central battlefield
have often forgotten that two children had
been involved in this melee, although the
author deliberately kept them off-stage
through most of the episodes.
While I
went off to write other novels, the impact
on the children has always haunted me.
Seeking closure, I decided to write what I
suppose can be called the aftermath of the
conflict. The result is
The Children of the
Roses.
Unfortunately, it did not provide closure.
In the process of writing this new novel, I
have discovered that no closure is possible,
that the effects of broken families linger
on through at least two succeeding
generations, perhaps more.
Readers and
reviewers of
The War of the Roses defined it as a
"Black Comedy". The movie people embellished
the label as a kind of cross between "film
noir and black comedy." Some called it "dark
satire."
Reviews of
both the book and the movie were evenly
divided in their praise and scorn. After
all, it is not a warm and cozy book. Nor is
the movie a reassuringly happy experience.
The characters are not exactly lovable and
the events depicted are not designed to
engender serene thoughts. It has to evoke
laughter. Either that or the emotional
hangover could be debilitating.
I cannot
count the number of people who have accosted
me and insisted "I stole their divorce" or
somehow tuned into their emotional state by
osmosis. Many told me the book changed their
life, citing it as a cautionary tale that
shocked them into taking positive or
remedial action in their lives.
Thankfully,
the book and movie continue to fascinate and
mesmerize and, to my enduring gratification,
provide insights into the perils and
pitfalls of family relationships and how
they tend to be microcosms of mankind's
endless battle with himself.
The Children
of the Roses is sure to engender similar
reactions. It too, cuts close to the bone,
perhaps too close. The children and
grandchildren of the Roses strive to cope
with even more complex problems than their
family faced twenty-three years before.
Echoes of their parents and grandparents
dysfunction cause all kind of problems and
disruptions and strange doings.
Indeed, as
in the original, you might not find the
characters warm and fuzzy, but you will
certainly be interested in their odd and
often illogical travails.
One advance
reviewer calls the book "wicked." He's
probably right. Black Comedy? Better to
laugh than cry.
I'm not quite sure if this is a selling hype
of my latest book. Certainly, I want it read
and talked about and am hopeful that some
movie mogul who has gone through a similar
experience will see its merits as a story to
grace the silver screen. It is interesting
to note that nearly all the people who
pushed making the earlier film had all gone
through horrendous divorces.
Dysfunctional families, by the way, seem to
provide literary and dramatic works of
enduring value. From Hamlet and Lear, to
Madame Bovary. Anna Karenina, Ulysses, Death
of Salesman. Long Days Journey into Night,
and on and on. It is an endless theater of
horror. Happily, I am not alone in my choice
of content.
As Tolstoy
said in the opening lines of Anna Karenina.
"Happy families are all alike. Every
unhappy family is unhappy in its own
way."
Some advance comments on
The Children of the Roses
"A
funny new spin on dysfunctional
family life - engrossing,
unpredictable and touching."-Sidney
Sheldon, best-selling author
"Adler
recreates the epic marital bickering
that made the original War of the Roses
such juicy movie material." -Publishers
Weekly
"Strangely compelling." -Kirkus
Reviews
"Warren
Adler has delivered a racy fast-paced
read. This sequel to that highly
acclaimed bestseller is full of drama,
suspense, tension and at times great
hilarity. This is one of those books
that's hard to put down until the last
page is read. Clever plotting and
terrific dialogue make it a page
turner."-Barbara Taylor Bradford, author
of Emma's Secret
"In War
of the Roses (1986), Adler set the
ultimate standard for dysfunctional
families. Now in his long-awaited
sequel, the sins of the father are
visited upon the next generation of Rose
offspring…Adultery, blackmail, rape, and
arson all factor into the downfall of
the next crop of Roses, yet Adler's gift
is to turn these outrageously bleak
scenarios into outrageously appealing
black comedy." -Booklist
"More
than 20 years after the publication of
The War of the Roses, the divorce story
that inspired the famous movie starring
Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner,
author Warren Adler returns with a
biting sequel. Just when it seems the
Rose children are headed for
self-destruction, hilarious and
unpredictable events intervene in
Adler's wicked follow-up."-Pages,
Recommended
Happy
reading.
The Children of the Roses
The darkly hilarious sequel to
The War of the Roses.
First Chapter Preview
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Victoria was on the checkout line at Safeway
for the mid-week groceries when the cell had
vibrated in the pocket of her slacks. It was
there mostly for useful family
communications and emergency situations.
On the line was Mr. Tatum, headmaster of Michael's school,
which had her cell number on file. Her heart jumped to her throat. He
was quick to reassure her.
"Michael is fine. Don't be alarmed," he said.
Then why this call, she wanted to ask, but held off.
"It's the business about the candy," Mr. Tatum explained. She
sucked in a deep breath and expelled it with a sense of relief. Then
disgust set in.
"That again," Victoria sighed. "So it's reached the emergency
level, has it?" she said with a touch of sarcasm. As she spoke, she
watched the heavyset uniformed female clerk punch in the numbers.
"They're three for two twenty," she barked. "Check your ad."
"Damn," the clerk blushed, embarrassed, rereading the list of
promotional prices.
"Not you, Mr. Tatum," she said into the phone. "I'm at the
Safeway."
"I don't want to complicate your life, Mrs. Rose," Mr. Tatum
said unctuously. "But we need you here as soon as possible."
"You can't be serious. Why?"
"We would like Mr. Rose here as well."
"That's impossible. You know he works in Manhattan. You know
that, Mr. Tatum. Why the urgency?"
"It's happened again," Mr. Tatum explained.
For a brief moment, a wave of panic washed over her. Was something
terrible being hidden? Surely this could not be about candy bars.
"Madeline's parents are not satisfied with Michael's previous
denials, Mrs. Rose."
"Are you saying that the girl is making yet another
accusation?"
Read
the rest of the
first
chapter and see complete details on
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