While we’re biting our nails…
Today my old friend, Marshall Fine, publishes his first novel.
Fine, the esteemed veteran film critic, has written a bunch of books about cinema. He was the long time critic for Gannett newspapers. He ran the New York Film Critics Circle, as well. To top that off, his documentary, “Robert Klein Still Can’t Stop His Leg,” about comedian Robert Klein, had its debut at the 2016 South by Southwest Film Festival. It’s a must see.
But now in his first turn to fiction, Marshall is publishing a book you will give every sister, mother, and girlfriend you know. “The Autumn of Ruth Winters” is a finely wrought character study of a 60ish Minnesota woman who has to remake her life when her husband dies.
Like Ruth — and believe it or not the Coen brothers — Fine is from St. Louis Park, Minnesota. He has a keen observant eye for storytelling, so his Ruth recalls in detail her life of ups and downs up to the moment. But then unexpected things begin to happen, and she has to recalibrate for the future. The book has echoes of Jane Austen in modern form that droves of readers will relate to about how to navigate life alone when you get some unexpected curveballs.
Just wait because “The Autumn of Ruth Winters” is likely to get filmed by any number of movie companies looking to tap into the huge female market.
Advance reviews have been off the charts! Actor-writer Griffin Dunne said: “If it is possible to write a bildungsroman about a woman in her sixties, Marshall Fine has done it. Fine takes his reserved heroine, Ruth Winters, on a journey through buried resentments, stifled grief, and petty slights until she finally accepts the love and compassion that was within her all along. She blossomed on the page like Jane Austen’s Elinor Dashwood right before my eyes. Marshall Fine has created a beautiful and moving character, that if we open our hearts, we will see Ruth Winters everywhere.”
Another rave from Oscar nominated “The Holdovers” actor Paul Giamatti: “The moving story of a lonely, ordinary woman told with compassion, wit, and an incredible wealth of very human detail. Time, memory, family, and second chances, it deals with it all. I was rooting for Ruth Winters all the way to the end.”
Bravo! My advice is download it or order it now. “The Autumn of Ruth Winters” may turn out to be the salve we need today!
