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Love and Death on Long Island

The book Love and Death on Long Island was made into the movie Love and Death on Long Island.

Which one did you like better, the book or the movie?  There are 4 votes for the book, and 3 votes for the movie.

Book details for Love and Death on Long Island

Love and Death on Long Island was written by Gilbert Adair. The book was published in 1990 by Grove Press. More information on the book is available on Amazon.com.

Gilbert Adair also wrote The Holy Innocents (1988).

 

Read More About This Book

Giles De'Ath is a widowed British novelist so obstinately old-fashioned that he speaks of the "current fad for videotape recorders." Caught in the rain one afternoon, he ducks into a cinema and inadvertently finds himself watching something called Hotpan... Read More
Giles De'Ath is a widowed British novelist so obstinately old-fashioned that he speaks of the "current fad for videotape recorders." Caught in the rain one afternoon, he ducks into a cinema and inadvertently finds himself watching something called Hotpants College II, where he first gazes upon an American heartthrob named Ronnie Bostock. Initially denying even the possibility that he might be experiencing a homosexual crush, De'Ath soon finds himself giving in to this "strange and bothersome distraction" by scouring teenybopper magazines for articles like "20 Facts Ya Didn't Know About [Ronnie]!!" "As someone who did not know any facts at all about him as yet," he notes, "I confess I felt a certain onset of excitement."

Gilbert Adair's narrative--it might be more accurate to call it a novella instead of a novel--is a precise depiction of romantic obsession and frustration. Narrated by De'Ath, it is thus somewhat more internally driven than the excellent 1998 film adaptation starring John Hurt and Jason Priestley. Love and Death on Long Island can be easily polished off with a few hours' reading, but its nuanced characterization of a man who trades restraint for recklessness is well worth savoring. --Ron Hogan

Movie details for Love and Death on Long Island

The movie was released in 1997 and directed by Richard Kwietniowski. Love and Death on Long Island was produced by Universal Studios. More information on the movie is available on Amazon.com and also IMDb.

Actors on this movie include John Hurt, Jason Priestley, Fiona Loewi, Sheila Hancock, Harvey Atkin, Gawn Grainger, Elizabeth Quinn, Maury Chaykin, Linda Busby, Bill Leadbitter, Anne Reid, Daniel Webb, Andrew Barrow, Dean Gariss, Robert McKewley, Tusse Silberg, Rebecca Michael, Jean Ainslie, Nigel Makin and Jonathan Stratt.

 

Read More About This Movie

An older artist, shunned by the white-hot media of the contemporary world, begins to glow again when he meets a handsome, not-altogether all-American boy. In 1998, two writer-directors brought extraordinary care to this subject, creating films that appear... Read More
An older artist, shunned by the white-hot media of the contemporary world, begins to glow again when he meets a handsome, not-altogether all-American boy. In 1998, two writer-directors brought extraordinary care to this subject, creating films that appeared on several top 10 lists. Gods and Monsters won an Oscar for Bill Condon's screenplay and a nomination for Ian McKellen's acting. Richard Kwietniowski's Love and Death on Long Island was forgotten during the award season. John Hurt has rarely been better as Giles De'Ath, a renowned British author of dry, laborious text. By sheer accident he sees a Porky's-type comedy at the theater: Hot Pants College II. About to leave, he spies on screen his very idea of beauty: a near-talentless American actor named Ronnie Bostock (Jason Priestley, in another deft, underseen performance). So starts De'Ath's very long trek out of his shell. He is so out of touch that when he purchases a VCR (to see the original Hot Pants College, no less), he doesn't realize he needs a TV set to view the picture. By film's end, he will meet his idol and jump into an abyss. Kwietniowski's debut film has uncommon sensitivity in the realm of fantasy and dream makers. As with Gods and Monsters, its homosexual undercurrent can play comfortably in front of straight viewers looking for crisp writing, fresh perspectives, and great acting. --Doug Thomas