Reviews for Mary Austin

The average rating for Mary Austin based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-04-21 00:00:00 Steph Jones A new collection of essays by triple-threat writer Carol Muske-Dukes, well-known for her poetry and her mystery novels, hints by its very title that we can expect surprises. The far-ranging discourse in MARRIED TO THE ICEPICK KILLER: A POET IN HOLLYWOOD, not only juxtaposes the noir ridiculous with the Parnassian, but it also prompts images of the ice-pick-wielding Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct and a Hitchcock villain or two. We discover on the first page that Muske-Dukes’ husband, actor David Dukes, suffered a fatal heart attack before the book was completed, and that the essays here, though written over a period of years, consequently took on a different resonance, one whose valedictory nature surprised Muske-Dukes and asked for her surrender. Wisely and humbly, she gave it. MARRIED TO THE ICEPICK KILLER is hardly a gloomy book, and indeed, it will delight, instruct and affirm the struggles of those who practice serious art in our any entertainment industry town. For example, Muske-Dukes relays an anecdote about a cocktail party she attended with her husband, a soirée populated by TV and film representatives, shortly after she moved from New York to Los Angeles. She tells one of these industry movers-and-shakers, when asked, that she is a writer. “Half-hour or hour?” he asks, a question that one would think was reserved for massage therapists or even prostitutes. “Neither,” replies the indulgent Muske-Dukes, fixing him with what she “likes to think of as an Oversoul gaze” and telling him she’s “lifetime.” He smiles back. “Oh, you work for cable.” (originally published in the NASHVILLE SCENE / Village Voice Media)

Review # 2 was written on 2009-06-10 00:00:00 William Smith An interesting story at times. but still no "spice" for me. See my review of her book of poems (_Sparrow_).