Oakhurst
Irregulars

A Novel by

Berton D. Garey

Power, greed, envy and betrayal.
Hooray for Hollywood.

Marilyn Monroe  

Back Cover photograph
of Norma Jean Baker by Sam Shaw.
Mr. Shaw took the memorable
black and white shot of Marilyn
Monroe for the movie The Seven Year Itch.


 

In the aftermath of war, there are no victors, only the wounded, some still trying to inflict pain, others trying to heal themselves and each other. Kurt Goldman finds both. In the Spring and early Summer of 1951 Oakhurst Drive in Beverly Hills is for him an idyllic, dynamic and exciting world of returned veterans, aspiring and established actors, and best of all, his new friend from up the block, Norma Jean. Oakhurst Irregulars creates an intimate and nuanced view of a post-war world as it is shaped by the people and events that surround young Kurt, and the choices that confront him, both in his innocence as well as in its loss.

Oakhurst Irregulars is a demanding and rewarding novel. In creating the voice of his narrator, Mr. Garey succeeds in the difficult task of making believable, engaging and compelling, both his eight year-old protagonist as he moves first through his own world of childhood, then as a lightening-rod for larger forces; and his grown counterpart, struggling to come to grips with events he's kept secret for thirty-eight years when a murder investigation threatens to reveal them. 

There is in Oakhurst Irregulars a strong sense of time and place, of people and events that draws the reader in, taking him on a journey of uncertain destination through a well realized and richly drawn world, with both apprehension and hope as fellow travelers. When Pete tells Kurt, "take your time and enjoy the ride," he could as well have been advising the reader, for therein lay the rewards of this well crafted and confidently told story, which is by turns, funny, lyric, and haunting, but ultimately an affirmation of the resilience of the human spirit. Mr. Garey's assured narrative, vivid characters and richly detailed settings make this both a memorable prequel and sequel to his first novel, Death Dance.

Praise for Death Dance

“In depth characterization, densely described venues, and clever plotting: a promising work from a new author.”   — Library Journal


About the Author: Mr. Garey was born in Santa Monica, CA in 1944. He grew up in the Beverly Hills of the late forties and fifties, the Beverly Hills of the Marx brothers, Danny Kaye, Jack Benny, George Burns, Billy Wilder, Danny Thomas, Jimmy Stewart, and Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe. He went to school with many of their kids, then moved to the heat-baked, godforsaken, but still pleasantly rural San Fernando Valley. He attended college at the University of California at Berkeley. He has been designing and building houses in the Berkeley hills and on the Mendocino coast for 33 years. He is married and has a son, 36, and daughters 18 and 14.  Oakhurst Irregulars is his second novel. His first novel, Death Dance was also published by SLG Books. Other writings include an original screenplay, Zak's Hill, and the completed screen play for Death Dance. Mr. Garey is currently working on the novels, The Bridge, Max Stories, and also Zak's Hill from his own screenplay.


Literature/Mystery

Publication date: December 2008

548 pages, 5 1/2" x 8 1/2"

$16.95 Trade paper, ISBN-13: 978-943389-40-0

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