"This is an engrossing read for literary fans, film buffs and fans of John Wayne and James Dean. "
Previously published as Impersonators Anonymous, Mit Out Sound by Rick Lenz sees a search for identity in the completion of a James Dean and John Wayne film that’s reached mythological status. As the production makes progress, the lines between fiction and reality, personality and impersonation are blurred. Mit Out Sound has an interesting and entertaining plot, the pursuit of the incomplete film shrouded in mystery lured me into the story. The strongest theme throughout the book for me was one of identity, skillfully introduced with Emily’s prosopagnosia and struggles to separate the faces in front of her from similar famous ones, the reader is forced into an unreliable perspective that allows echoes of the past production to come to life alongside the current one. Add in the psychology of the impersonators, their immersion in another person and the impacts that has on the characters and we see a cast of characters all grasping for their own identity and purpose. Mit Out Sound has so many layers. It can be read on the surface level as an engaging story about a lost film and those working to recreate it. It can be pondered over, each of the characters offering something to dissect, or more abstractly as a commentary of our perception of celebrities, the multi-dimensions of an individual not lost when “cut” is called. Lenz’s own experience with writing makes the story feel polished and believable, his experience in the film industry adding another layer of authenticity. This is an engrossing read for literary fans, film buffs and fans of John Wayne and James Dean.
Charlotte Walker, A LoveReading Ambassador
| Primary Genre | Indie Author Books |
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