Review of "Be Frank With Me: A Novel" by Julia Claiborne Johnson

 

New York literary agent Isaac Vargas's star client is M. M. Banning (Mimi), a middle-aged writer who wrote her only novel, titled 'Pitched', when she was nineteen.



The book, about a gifted young baseball player who loses his mind and dies, won a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, and became a cult favorite. The book still has thousands of rabid fans, who swarm Banning if she shows her face in public.



Thus Mimi has become something of a recluse, holed up in her expensive Los Angeles home.

One day Mimi calls Vargas to say she's writing a new book. It seems Mimi has been bilked out of her fortune by a crooked investment advisor and is about to lose her house and the copyright to Pitched. To recoup her finances, Banning has to pen a second novel. Mimi makes two demands of Vargas: a huge advance and an assistant, chosen by Vargas and paid for by the publisher.



Vargas decides to send his editorial assistant, a twenty-four year old accountant, computer whiz, and artist named Alice Whitley to Los Angeles.



Alice expects to help Banning shepherd her book to completion. Instead, Alice becomes the defacto guardian of Banning's nine-year-old son Frank, a gifted boy on the autism spectrum.



Frank has special needs, but they're more in line with the foibles of an eccentric wunderkind than a child who struggles with schoolwork.



Alice quickly learns the two rules of Frank. Rule one: No touching Frank's things. Rule two: No touching Frank. For any 'touching' to occur, Frank has to give prior permission. Rule breaking can result in Frank screaming; throwing things; banging his head on a table or wall; lying on the floor and going stiff; or other inappropriate behavior.



Frank's idiosyncrasies also extend to his wardrobe, recreational preferences, and conversations. Frank dresses as 'characters', and depending on his mood might be outfitted in a cravat and smoking jacket; zoot suit; deerstalker hat and caped overcoat; yachting blazer and captain's hat; cutaway coat, morning pants, spats, and top hat; pinstripe suit, wingtips, and monocle; or other unusual attire purchased from online catalogues.



For fun, Frank enjoys movies, especially vintage black and white ones. Some of his favorites are White Heat; My Man Godfrey; Sunset Boulevard; Casablanca; It's a Wonderful Life; Titanic; and more.



Frank also likes to talk, and seems to know arcane facts about almost everything. For example, when Alice takes Frank out in the car, he tells her, "Isadora Duncan met an untimely end in France on September fourteenth, 1927, when her scarf got entangled in the wheels of the convertible she rode in." And when the subject is bombs, Frank observes, "The Enola Gay, the airplane that dropped the first atom bomb, was built in Omaha in 1945."



Mimi dearly loves her young son, but - while she's writing her book - puts him almost exclusively in Alice's hands. Thus, while Mimi holes up in her office, Alice drives Frank to school and picks him up; prepares his meals; takes him to museums; plays with him; watches movies with him; supervises his bath time and bedtime; and so on.



Frank functions pretty well at home, but his manner of dress and behavior make him a target at school, where kids tease and taunt him. Alice has to deal with this on top of everything else, and it's taxing. 

The one time Mimi is obligated to take her son to school she wears "the type of outfit you'd expect Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly to wear to cocktails: a little black dress, big black sunglasses, gloves, and pearls."



Together, Frank and Mimi "were the only pair on the playground dressed like they were going for drinks at the Algonquin after a funeral."

Despite everything (or maybe because of it), Alice forges a close bond with Frank and he cares for her as well.

The other important person in Frank's life is Xander, a quixotic piano teacher and handyman who periodically comes and goes from the Banning home.



Frank loves Xander, but the man's irresponsibility is a problem.



As the story unfolds we learn of tragic incidents in the lives of some characters, which explains their subsequent behavior and makes them more sympathetic. Frank is an absolute joy, and one hopes he retains his quirkiness while becoming a successful adult.

I was a little disappointed with the ending but this is a very good book, highly recommended.

I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

Rating: 4 stars