Don't Cry For Me West Covina

<p>    In his 2017 memoir <em>Wild Seed: Searching for My Brother Dan</em> journalist and author Edward Guthmann described a family tragedy and its aftermath. In <em>Don't Cry for Me West Covina </em>a new collection of 25 personal essays he circles back once again -- this time in a lighter vein. </p><p>In the title chapter Guthmann recalls his hometown of West Covina a Los Angeles suburb that frustrated him with its conformity and provincialism but provided an impetus to explore a much broader canvas. </p><p>We see him falling in love with movies at an early age (It Started with Fred Astaire); landing a role on the professional stage (The Year I Played in <em>Oliver</em>!); protesting the Vietnam War during the nationwide student strike of 1970 (Breaking the Redwood Curtain); leaving the cozy college town of Arcata for the frenzy of San Francisco (A Dive in the Deep End); and building a career as a <em>San Francisco Chronicle </em>arts reporter and reviewer (Confessions of a Recovering Movie Critic).</p><p>Guthmann introduces his imperious paternal aunt (Aunt Rollie Conquers the Universe) and the loquacious rapscallion Mamie Jackson whose language has a cascading musical quality and an urge to shock. We travel with him to Las Vegas when the town was still small and ruled by the Mob; to Europe where he spent one summer on a $5-a-day allowance; to Cameroun where his mother and four aunts lived as young girls and befriended a baby gorilla Bushman who became a star attraction at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.</p><p>At turns witty and tender playful and nostalgic the stories in this collection reflect the author's wide-ranging lifelong curiosity.</p><p></p>