In Pursuit of a Vanishing Star

by Gustaf Sobin

Book Overview

Dying scriptwriter Philip Nilson spends his last days writing about a forgotten but critical moment in the life of Greta Garbo. He tracks that most elusive of film stars to an episode in Constantinople in 1924, where, under the tutelage of impresario Mauritz Stiller, Garbo emerges as one of the dominant icons of the twentieth century. Enthralled by the story, Nilson awakens to the memory of a long-forgotten first love that, he discovers, has held him in its grip for the better part of his life. This glowing novel is both a contemporary narrative celebrating a glorious moment in the history of cinema and an allegory touching upon the very meaning of existence.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393324001
• ISBN13: 9780393324006
• Release Date: March 2003
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 134 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Excellent study of the elusive, illusional in life

This short novel is a gem -- large in scope if not in words. A script writer is dying of cancer. His double, a producer and second husband of the writer's ex-wife, offers him a project -- a gift to keep his mind on things other than dying. The book narrates the film script he is writing - a film on Greta Garbo centered on the event that turned her from another good actress to the film goddess. As he researches and writes the script, the writer comes to terms with his own elusive (illusive) love for a half-sister, to terms with living as a passive canvas versus living with self-understanding.The book is exquisite - well researched and perceptive of people and their idols, the effect of time on changing idols. If you read for action, this is probably not to your liking. If you read to expand your understanding of humanity, this belongs on your "must read" list.