Review of "Making It So: A Memoir" by Patrick Stewart

Patrick Stewart

Patrick Stewart, born in 1940, is an English actor whose career has spanned seven decades in theater, film, television and more. Stewart is perhaps best known for playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men movies.

Stewart grew up in the town of Mirfield, in the north of England. Mirfield was an industrial and agricultural enclave, and most of its residents - including Patrick's family - struggled financially. Stewart's father Alfred was a decorated army officer, and his mother Gladys worked in a textile mill.


Mirfield

After leaving the military, Alfred Stewart had a hard time adjusting to civilian life, and he drank and beat his wife, behavior that profoundly affected Patrick and his older brother Trevor. Still, young Patrick was a tough lad. Stewart writes, "I was not a softy as a boy. I couldn't afford to be. Where I came from, if you weren't tough on the playground, you became a target for bullying."


Young Patrick Stewart (right) with his mother Gladys and brother Trevor


Patrick Stewart with his father Alfred and mother Gladys

Stewart became interested in acting at a young age. He observes, "It doesn't take a degree in psychology to figure out the appeal of acting to someone who grew up in a household as troubled as mine. The stage would prove to be a safe space, a refuge from real life." Stewart's English teacher, Mr. Cecil Dormand, helped cultivate Patrick's interest in literature, drama, and Shakespeare, and Dormand was the inspiration for Patrick's future career.


Patrick Stewart with English teacher Cecil Dormand and Cecil's wife Mary

Stewart also credits actress/acting coach Ruth Wynn Owen for assisting his aspirations. As a young man, Stewart 'spoke Yorkshire' and he recalls, "Ruth was insistent that if we were serious about acting, we need to learn....the way that BBC newsreaders spoke"- a way that most people think of as a posh aristocratic accent.


Actress/Acting Coach Ruth Wynn Owen

Stewart left public school at the age of fifteen, after which he attended drama school. From there Patrick climbed the ladder through various repertory companies until he finally joined the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 1965. Stewart writes a good deal about the plays he was in and the actors, directors, and other colleagues he worked with.

For example, Stewart recalls playing Launce in Shakespeare's comedy 'The Two Gentleman of Verona' in 1970. The cast included Helen Mirren, Ian Richardson, Estelle Kohler, and a dog named Blackie, who played Launce's mellow pooch Crab.

Stewart relates a story about casting Blackie, whom he found at a kennel. Patrick remembers, "I had brought a camera with me, so I took photos of Blackie, a process he completely ignored. No fussing, no tail wagging....he was just THERE.....a real Method dog. Rod Steiger would have loved him."


Young thespian Patrick Stewart


Patrick Stewart and Blackie in 'The Two Gentlemen of Verona'

At one time, Stewart toured with actress Vivien Leigh. Patrick observes, "I had something of an out-of-body experience meeting her, as I had never before met anyone so famous, nor, for that matter, so talented....Vivien was bright, friendly, hardworking, and as beautiful as she appeared in movies."


Vivien Leigh in the play 'Duel of Angels'

Patrick's professional journey included many Shakespeare plays, as well as other works, and his rise could serve as a primer for aspiring young thespians. Recollecting the RSC, Stewart writes, "My time with the RSC was everything I had hoped it would be and more. The people who filled that historic auditorium in Stratford were excited just to be there....for the express purpose of seeing William Shakespeare's work performed in his hometown by the foremost Shakespearean actors."


Patrick Stewart in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

Stewart remained with the RSC for many years, during which he was married to his first wife Sheila Falconer - an English actress, dancer, and choreographer. The couple had two children, Daniel and Sophie.


Patrick Stewart's first wife Sheila Falconer


Patrick Stewart with his son Daniel


Patrick Stewart with his daughter Sophie

In time, Stewart broke into films, his first big movie being 1984's science fiction epic 'Dune.' In an amusing anecdote, Patrick talks about rock idol Sting joining the cast of 'Dune.' When Sting mentioned he played in the group Police, Patrick - who was SERIOUSLY pop-culture challenged - responded, "You play in a police band? Wow! How marvelous!"


Sting in the movie 'Dune'

Stewart also knew next to nothing about the television show Star Trek (1966 - 1969), and was bewildered when the show's creator, Gene Roddenberry, wanted to meet him. Roddenberry was developing a new version of the program, called Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) and Stewart was being considered for the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard.


Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry

Roddenberry wasn't impressed with Patrick, but other executives prevailed, and Patrick got the role of Picard. At the time, Stewart's agent, Steve Dontanville said, "It is my opinion that you'll be lucky to make it through the first season. I don't think anyone can replicate the success of the original Star Trek. You'll be lucky to make it to Thanksgiving, to be honest."

Little did Steve know, because TNG ran from 1987 to 1994, and spawned several movies after that.


Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation

Stewart knew TNG would change his life, in part because the show filmed in California and Patrick's family lived in England. Patrick tells many stories about TNG, including tales about the cast, crew, guest stars, and scripts. Luckily, the TNG actors and actresses got along, and Patrick recalls, "Chance had thrown me into a company that was as generous and funny as it was talented. Our mutual respect grew over time into friendship and ultimately a feeling of family - and this feeling only gets stronger as we get older."


Original cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. From left: Wil Wheaton, Denise Crosby, LeVar Burton, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, Gates McFadden, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, and Brent Spiner

By TNG's final season, Stewart was getting restless and wanted new challenges. Thus Patrick went back to doing Shakespeare plays and other television and movie work. By this time, Patrick and Sheila were divorced, their marriage ending after Patrick's affair with actress Jennifer Hetrick, who guest starred as 'Vash' on TNG.


Patrick Stewart and Jennifer Hetrick (as Vash on Star Trek: The Next Generation)

In 1999 Stewart began playing Professor Charles Xavier (Professor X) in the big-budget comic book adaptation of X-Men. The filming schedule also allowed Stewart to work on the stage, and Patrick writes, "I took advantage and did lots of good stuff."


Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier in 'X-Men'

During this time, Stewart was married to his second wife, Wendy Neuss - an American television and film producer. This brief marriage ended when Patrick had an affair with Lisa Dillon, his co-star in Henrik Ibsen's play, 'The Master Builder.' Stewart laments, "I needed to do better by the women with whom I was romantically involved. In a life chockablock with joy and success, my two failed marriages are my greatest regret."


Patrick Stewart with his second wife Wendy Neuss


Patrick Stewart and Lisa Dillon in 'The Master Builder'

Stewart's career continued to burgeon in the 2000s, and he hosted 'Saturday Night Live', became a voice actor on 'American Dad', played himself on an episode of Ricky Gervais's comedy series 'Extras', played Macbeth in New York, reprised his role as Jean-Luc in the series Star Trek: Picard and more.


Patrick Stewart playing Macbeth on Broadway

In 2010, Stewart was knighted by Queen Elizabeth, and in 2013 Stewart married his third wife, Sunny Ozell - an American singer and songwriter.


Patrick Stewart was knighted by Queen Elizabeth


Patrick Stewart and his third wife Sunny Ozell

Marriage to Sunny has helped Stewart exhibit the fun side of his personality. At the urging of Sunny's music producer, Patrick recorded his favorite cowboy songs with Sunny's band. Patrick notes, "You can find the resultant video short, hawking music by the man "long known as England's premier cowboy singer" on YouTube. This is a MUST SEE for Patrick Stewart fans.


Patrick Stewart's cowboy songs on YouTube

Though Stewart is in his 80s, he's nowhere near ready to retire. So stay tuned for more.

Stewart has had an incredibly interesting life and I enjoyed following Patrick's journey from a house with no indoor facilities in Mirfield to his tremendous success on the stage and screen. I especially liked Stewart's anecdotes about people he's met and worked with because Patrick doesn't pull his punches, so we find out who's nice and who's not. 🙂

Highly recommended.

Rating: 4 stars

Review of "A Slow Fire Burning: A Novel of Suspense" by Paula Hawkins

This story revolves around the death of a twentysomething man named Daniel, who seems to be a lost soul.

Daniel lives on a dilapidated houseboat moored in a London canal, and though Daniel is a gifted artist, he isn't doing much with his life.



Daniel's houseboat neighbor is a woman named Miriam, a spiteful middle-aged busybody who notes that Daniel isn't following the canal's 'houseboat rules.'



When Miriam goes over to Daniel's home to complain, she finds Daniel stabbed to death.



As the police investigate Daniel's homicide, they learn that a young woman named Laura was with Daniel the night before he died. Laura admits she had a one-night-stand with Daniel and fought with him, but insists she didn't kill him.



Unfortunately for Laura, she's a troubled girl with a history of violence. When Laura was ten years old, she was badly injured by a hit-and-run driver. After being hospitalized for months - and relearning how to walk, talk, eat, etc. - . Laura emerged with a lack of impulse control and a limp.



To add to Laura's troubles, her divorced parents are less then helpful when she phones them for assistance. Both parents are remarried, and they make excuses to leave Laura on her own.



The family of murdered Daniel seems prone to tragedy. Daniel's mother Angela died a couple of weeks before Daniel was killed, from a fall down the stairs. The two incidents in close proximity make police suspicious, and they try to connect the two deaths.



Angela's sister (Daniel's aunt) Carla is unable to provide much help about her stricken family. Carla has been estranged from Angela for over a decade, ever since Carla's three-year-old son Ben perished while Angela was babysitting. Ben fell off a second-story balcony, and Carla and her ex-husband Theo believe Angela was drunk and negligent.



Even more than Carla, Theo blames Angela for the horrible misfortune.



The plot thickens when nosybody Miriam, who found Daniel's body, sticks an oar in. Miriam has a grudge against Theo, who writes thrillers. Miriam thinks Theo plagiarized a story she wrote, and she plans to get revenge by framing Theo's wife Carla for Daniel's murder.

The story has a multitude of characters, and their ubiquitous bad behavior is a sad commentary on human nature. Still, I found the book compelling, and was properly shocked at some of the big reveals. A good book for armchair detectives who like to suss out clues.



I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Rosamund Pike, who does an excellent job.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "The New Iberia Blues: A Dave Robicheaux Mystery" by James Lee Burke

In this 22nd book in the 'Dave Robicheaux' series, the detective is after a brutal serial killer. The book can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the characters is a plus.

*****

When people report hearing screams on the bayou near Cypremort Point in New Iberia, Louisiana, Sheriff's Detective Dave Robicheaux and Deputy Sean McClain drive over to investigate. One of the homes in the area belongs to award-winning Hollywood director Desmond Cormier - who's in town to film a movie - and the detectives go there first.....to see if he heard anything.



Dave knew Desmond a quarter century ago, when the director was a poor New Orleans schoolboy with big dreams - and the filmmaker invites the detectives into his home. On Desmond's patio they meet Antoine Butterworth, an arrogant Hollywood tagalong who's exercising in the near nude.



Dave takes an instant dislike to Antoine, who he considers a sociopath and pervert, and Dave's opinion of Desmond drops a few notches as well. These feelings get even stronger when Dave spots a body in the bayou, and Desmond and Antoine claim to see nothing.



The corpse, secured to a large wooden cross, turns out to be Lucinda Arceneaux - a preacher's daughter who helps get wrongly convicted men out of prison. Lucinda's death is followed by a series of vicious murders, each one connected to an abstruse symbol from the tarot.



The main suspect for the crimes is Hugo Tillinger, a convicted killer who broke out of a Texas prison. Hugo had been in contact with Lucinda.....and was recently seen in New Iberia by Dave's friend Clete Purcel. Hugo thinks the 'movie people' will prove his innocence and make a documentary film about him.

Hugo isn't the only suspect however. Other possible killers considered by Dave and his boss Sheriff Helen Soileau are: a weird little assassin named Chester ("Smiley") Wimple - who looks like a huge maggot with red lips; the financiers of Desmond's movie - New Jersey mafiosos, Miami drug dealers, and Middle-Eastern oil sheiks; and people on the film crew.

While Dave is investigating the killings he has a personal crisis brought on by the ugliness of the crimes; his life as a lonely widower; horrible memories of the Viet Nam War; and the despoliation of southern Louisiana - which has been ruined by greedy developers and corrupt politicians.



Dave is also at odds with his daughter Alafair, a law school graduate who writes novels and screenplays. Alafair is working on Desmond's movie and hanging out with Lou Wexler - a handsome, well-built producer much older than herself. Dave thinks all Hollywood people are bottom feeders and has an especially bad feeling about Wexler, who drives a red Lamborghini and flies in private planes. Moreover, Dave disapproves of the age difference between Alafair and the producer.



All this turmoil ALMOST drives Dave - a recovering alcoholic - back to the bottle. Dave has a few terrible weeks during which he obsesses constantly; hangs out at a blues bar frequented by hookers; experiences dry drunks, and does things he shouldn't.

Dave's attitude about Alafair and Wexler is ironic since Dave himself is infatuated with his new partner Bailey Ribbons - a pretty woman at least 30 years his junior. Dave tries to play it cool, but Bailey insists 'age isn't important' and practically throws herself at him. This is what I call 'male fantasy writing' and I wish James Lee Burke had left it out. 😒

Dave and his fellow cops continue to pursue the perp, sometimes with the help of Clete Purcel - who's quick with his fists and his guns. Of course the killer is eventually identified and the motive revealed, but it doesn't ring true to me, and the connection with the tarot is especially obscure.

The book has a variety of memorable characters, including: a poor black prostitute whose pimp is a dirty cop; a black blues singer with a small child; corrupt deputies in the Sheriff's Department (Why oh why does Helen keep hiring these people? 🤕); a Miami hitman; Dave's pets Mon Tee Coon (a raccoon) and Snuggs (a cat); and more.



As always in this series, the author's atmospheric depiction of southern Louisiana - the flora, fauna, swamps, tides, sunrises, sunsets, clouds, rain, food, and so on - is superb.....and I felt like I could see and smell the region. (I actually went to school there; shout out to Cajun restaurants. 😊💕)



The plot of the book is engaging, but is almost overshadowed by Dave's continuous introspection and poor behavior. I hope Dave gets over himself in future books. Still, James Lee Burke is one of America's best mystery writers (IMO) and his novels are always worth reading.



Thanks to Netgalley, the author (James Lee Burke) and the publisher (Simon and Schuster) for a copy of the book. 

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "Before We Say Goodbye: A Before The Coffee Gets Cold Novel" by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

In this 4th book in the 'Before The Coffee Gets Cold' series, four 'time travelers' want to make amends. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

On a side street in Tokyo there's a little coffee shop called Funiculi Funicula that has a very unusual feature. It allows people to travel back in time. There are rigid rules for time travelers, however, as follows:

- Whatever you do, you CANNOT change the present.

- You can only interact with people who have visited Funiculi Funicula.

- You must sit in one specific chair in the café to time travel, and you can't leave the chair for any reason. The catch is, a ghost - in the form of a woman reading a book - occupies the chair and only leaves once a day to go to the toilet.



- A cup of coffee starts the journey, and you MUST return to the present before the coffee gets cold. If you don't return in time, YOU become the ghost in the chair.



Regular denizens of the coffee shop include:

☕︎ Nagare Tokita - the owner of the café; he's over six feet tall and wears a white cook's uniform.



☕︎ Kazu - Nagare's cousin, who works as a waitress in the café; she pours the coffee for the time travelers.



☕︎ Nana Kohtake - a nurse in a local hospital; she drops into the café every day after work.



☕︎ Fumiko Kiokawa - a university graduate who knows six languages; she also visits the café every day after work.



*****

In each of the four vignettes in this book, someone is haunted by something that happened in the past, and feels compelled to go back. The four time travelers are:

⏲️ The Husband



Monji Kadokura is a husband, father, professor, and adventurer who traveled extensively for his work. Over the years, Kadokura spent little time with his family, and left the task of raising the children to his spouse.

A few years ago, Kadokura's wife Mieko had an accident, and she's been in a vegetative state ever since. Now, the professor wants to go back and speak to his wife one more time.

⏲️ The Dog Owner



Sunao Hikita and her husband Mutsuo never had children, but they had a beloved golden retriever named Apollo. When Apollo was approaching the end of his life, Sunao and Mutsuo took turns staying with the dog around the clock, so Apollo wouldn't pass alone.

Sadly, Sunao was dozing when Apollo went to his reward, and she feels terrible about her lapse. Thus Sunao wants to return to the past.

⏲️ The Girlfriend



When Hikari Ishimori's boyfriend, Yoji Sakita, asked her to meet him in Funiculi Funicula, Hikari knew Yoji planned to propose. Hikari, who just got a job as a wedding planner, explained she wasn't ready to wed, and Yoji promised to wait for her.

Now, half a year later, Hikari says he's become interested in another woman. This spurs Hikari to visit the past.

⏲️ The Daughter



Michiko Kijimoto decided to attend university in Tokyo to get away from her father, Kengo, who was always telling her what to do. When Kengo visited his daughter at school, she was rude and disprespectul.

Shortly afterwards, Japan experienced the 2011 earthquake and subsequent tsunami, in which Kengo perished. Thus Michiko wants to go back and speak to her father once again.

*****

The stories are quirky, touching, and illuminating.

If you could go back in time, who would you choose to see?

Thanks to Netgalley, Toshikazu Kawaguchi, and Hanover Square Press for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3.5 stars