Friday, January 17, 2020

Music as grace notes in James Ziskin's Ellie Stone novels


HALLIE EPHRON: When I first heard about James Ziskin's Ellie Stone novels, he had a new one out which was set in Hollywood in the 1960s, I knew I had to meet him. I grew up in Hollywood in the 60's and I'd set my latest novel there, too. He was getting an amazing reception to the series--his books have won the Anthony and Macavity awards, and been finalists for Lefty, Edgar, and Barry Awards. Not too shabby! I just finished reading the latest, TURN TO STONE (launching June 21) and it's simply terrific.

So I'm delighted to welcome him to Jungle Red, and have him weigh in on music, and the role it plays in the Ellie Stone novels.

JAMES ZISKIN: I write a series of traditional mysteries set in the early 1960s, featuring plucky young newspaper reporter Ellie Stone. Since the first book, music has played a supporting role in all the stories. Not necessarily front and center, but important just the same. Whether it’s a clue tied to some classical records maliciously shattered in STYX & STONE, or simply Ellie’s uncanny ability to name a piece of music at the drop of a needle, you’ll always find music in an Ellie Stone mystery. It’s no different in the seventh installment, TURN TO STONE, coming out January 21, 2020.
Ellie moves around quite a bit. That’s because she’s living and working in an upstate New York mill town and I wanted to avoid Cabot Cove syndrome. You know, that disorder characterized by too many murders in a small village? Ellie has solved crimes in her adopted upstate home of New Holland, New York City, the Adirondacks, Los Angeles, Saratoga Springs, and now—in TURN TO STONE—Florence, Italy.

It’s September 1963. Ellie is in Florence to attend an academic symposium honoring her late father. Just as she arrives on the banks of the Arno, however, she learns that her host, Professor Alberto Bondinelli, has drown in the river under suspicious circumstances. Then a suspected rubella outbreak leaves Ellie and nine of the symposium participants quarantined in villa outside the city with little to do but tell stories to entertain themselves. Making the best of their confinement, the men and women spin tales and gorge themselves on fine Tuscan food and wine until the quarantine can be lifted. And as they do, long-buried secrets about Bondinelli rise to the surface, and Ellie must figure out if one or more of her companions is capable of murder.

That’s the setup. But what about the music? I’m just getting to that. Since Ellie is in Italy, there’s bound to be Italian music. Let’s take the pieces mentioned in the book in order.

1. Ellie writes in her preamble to the story that Neil Sedaka, Paul Anka, Andy Williams, and Petula Clark all had hits in Italy in 1963. And they sang those songs in Italian. 


2. The first song that appears in the book is an anti-fascist anthem of sorts, “Bella ciao!” The song has its roots in the nineteenth century as a folk song, but was adopted and adapted during the Second World War by the partisans and the anti-fascist resistance that sprang up in 1943-44. It’s a catchy tune and an enduring song of protest and rebellion. Have a listen.

Here are the words to the first stanza and refrain:

Una mattina mi son alzato,
o bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao!
Una mattina mi son alzato
e ho trovato l'invasor.

O partigiano portami via,
o bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
o partigiano portami via
che mi sento di morir.

One morning I awakened,
oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao!
One morning I awakened
And I found the invader.

Oh partisan carry me away,
oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
oh partisan carry me away
Because I feel death approaching
3. “Volare.” Lucio Bevilacqua is the adorable Marxist, one of the ten academics trapped by the quarantine. And he’s the one who plays the guitar. Not many complete songs, mind you, as he never seems satisfied with the tuning of his strings. After he plays “Bella ciao,” which is not well received by those with different political persuasions, Lucio tries to lower the political tensions by playing “Volare.” Everyone groans at the overplayed hit, and Lucio abandons the song halfway through.

4. Throughout the book, Lucio spends a lot of time flirting good-naturedly with Ellie. His courting usually takes the form of a theatrical serenade on bended knee. And the love ballades are always taken from Italian pop songs of the era.

“Eri un’abitudine, dolcissima abitudine, che vorrei reprendere per sognar” (This is the Italian version of “Can’t Get Used to Losing You.”)

“Mi sono inamorato di te” (I’ve fallen in love with you.)

“La ragazza del mio cuore sei” (The girl of my heart is you.)

“Non dimenticar che t’ho voluto tanto bene” (Don’t forget that I loved you so.) This is the Italian version of a song made famous by Nat King Cole.

5. When the quarantined residents tell their stories for entertainment, Lucio is there to accompany them on his guitar. For the tale about a Jew who considers—then rejects—converting to Christianity, Lucio spontaneously strums a tune that Ellie recognizes as part of the third movement of Mahler’s first symphony, the “Titan.” It’s a distinctly Jewish theme, a jaunty bit that makes you want to dance. For the first time, she’s impressed by his considerable talent and wit.

6. Professor Bondinelli’s fourteen-year-old daughter, Mariangela, arrives at the villa from her school in England, and Ellie takes her under her wing. The two discuss photography, the losses of their fathers, and music. Now, this is late September 1963, and Mariangela—like many girls her age in the UK—is crazy about the Beatles. Of course they Beatles were virtually unknown in the US until a couple of months later.


Mariangela and Ellie manage to scare up a portable record player at the villa, and the girl treats Ellie to her favorite three songs in the world: “Ask Me Why,” “Please Please Me,” and “She Loves You.” With the pure, unbridled enthusiasm of youth, Mariangela plays the songs over and over, and Ellie indulges her her passion, especially in light of the recent loss of her father.

Why do I include so much music in my books? I’ll answer that with the very same Shakespeare quote that Ellie butchers above. He said it better than I could ever hope to.

“The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils;
The motions of his spirit are dull as night
And his affections dark as Erebus:
Let no such man be trusted. Mark the music.”
(The Merchant of Venice, 5.1.91-7)


TURN TO STONE launches January 21, 2020. Available in bookstores, libraries, and popular online portals.
Amazon  

Barnes & Noble

James W. Ziskin, Jim to his friends, is the author of the seven Ellie Stone mysteries. His books have been finalists for the Edgar, Anthony, Barry, Lefty, and Macavity awards. His fourth book, Heart of Stone, won the 2017 Anthony for Best Paperback Original and the 2017 Macavity (Sue Feder Memorial) award for Best Historical Mystery. He’s published short stories in various anthologies and in The Strand Magazine. Before he turned to writing, he worked in New York as a photo-news producer and writer, and then as director of NYU’s Casa Italiana. He spent fifteen years in the Hollywood postproduction industry, running large international operations in the subtitling and visual effects fields. His international experience includes two years working and studying in France, extensive time in Italy, and more than three years in India. He speaks Italian and French. Jim can be reached through his website www.jameswziskin.com or on Twitter @jameswziskin.

HALLIE: What Jim didn't talk about is ITALY! Turn To Stone is nearly as much fun as taking the trip to Florence yourself. But since he's talking about music, my mind wanders to the authors for whom music is a central part of their stories. And of course Deborah Crombie, for sure. And Ian Rankin. And of course Colin Dexter's opera-loving Inspector Morse.


And I want to hear about his years in Italy, because it's so clear that his view of it (not to mention his accent) belies an insider's perspective.

50 comments:

  1. Congratulations, Jim, on your newest book. This sounds like an amazing story and I’m looking forward to reading it . . . .

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    1. Thank you, Joan! This book was truly a labor of love. Italy and Italian have played such big roles in my life. Florence, too. Not that it was easy. For some reason, I couldn’t get a good outline together so I wrote this by the seat of my pants. A lot of revisions on the back end. But I think it’s turned out to be the best Ellie yet.

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  2. Jim, you know how much I love Ellie and this series. I'm always amazed, though I shouldn't be anymore, at how much there is to glean from your books, like the music and languages and horse racing and on and on. All of this in addition to a great story, weaved through the story organically without any feeling of superfluity. (I'm using that in my review, which will post Monday.) I am reading Turn to Stone now, and I am loving Ellie's visit to Florence. The music mentioned and played throughout it is a special treat and, yet, as I said, not a separate entity, but a movement of the story.

    I have to say that Jim is so brilliant, so knowledgeable and yet one of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. Like his writing, he is many layered, and like his writing he will utterly charm you. Congratulations on another outstanding book, Jim.

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    1. SO nice! In addition to all that talent. It's a lovely thing.

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    2. Kathy, thank you so much! I’m a big fan of your reviews and of YOU. It’s always a pleasure meeting you at conferences. I remember the hide and seek we played in Raleigh, never managing to get together. You had some books for me to sign. Looking forward to the review!

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  3. How many readers understand the reference "drop of a needle." Fabulous and very atmospheric. I can't wait to dig into TURN TO STONE, but it's good there's time to start with book 1 and get current with Ellie.

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    1. On needle drop: The needle drop is a technique used in hip hop deejaying! So, it's come back.

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    2. Yes, the old drop the needle. Kind of like Name that Tune. Ellie excels at it, even if she admits it’s a useless talent. I don’t agree.

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    3. Yikes, Hallie, I had no idea!

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    4. I completely ruined my parents console stereo listening to Beatles records backwards. Ellie will learn about that in a few years. As for me, I'm still hearing about it!

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  4. Jim knows I loved this book. He really brought Florence alive, and the story as it unfolds is so multi-layered. I hope the book is a big hit!

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    1. Edith, you wrote a lovely blurb for TURN TO STONE. Thank you! Keep those Rose Carroll mysteries coming! Love them.

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  5. Congratulations on the new book, Jim! I've only dipped a toe into the Ellie Stone mysteries, but I have enjoyed them so much. I look forward to reading Turn to Stone.

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    1. Thank you, Gigi! I’m so glad you weren’t put off! Hope you enjoy the others. This one, TURN TO STONE, is quite different in many ways. But you’ll have to read it to figure out how.

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  6. I got to meet James late last year when we were both at a signing event for Steven Cooper and Hank Phillippi Ryan. Great quick chat with him. I'm looking forward to reading this book when it comes out. I've even got a magnet of the cover on my refrigerator!

    While my musical interests are a universe apart from the music featured in this series, it is nice when any kind of music gets to play a part in a series. I love when Michael Connelly features the jazz music in the Harry Bosch series. I'm not a jazz fan but I do tend to at least look up a couple of the names mentioned in those stories. I guess that I will have to start doing that with the Ellie Stone books too.

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    1. Harry Bosch: jazz. I'd forgotten that.
      Jim Fusilli's novels have also been full of music - but then, he's been a music critic for the Wall Street Journal.

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    2. Thanks, Jay. It was a pleasure meeting you at NEBF. Let’s hope they survive somehow. And you’re right. Bosch’s jazz is a wonderful touch. Consistent and telling.

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    3. Jim Fusilli is way out of my league! He’s an encyclopedia.

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  7. Congratulations on the new book! I look forward to reading it.

    It's been awhile since I read them, but I remember Peter Robinson's Inspector Banks novels always featured his music prominently. As I recall it was very effective at establishing his moodiness.

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  8. I have an ARC of this book that I just haven't been able to get to, but I'm on vacation next week and I need some reads...

    And I'll chime in about Jim being a great guy. In addition to being a great writer.

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    1. Thanks, Liz. I really loved THE ENEMY WE CAN’T SEE!

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  9. I love the Elllie books. And Jim, of course! We all cheered when he and his wife Lakshmi moved to Boston.
    And now I am completely singing. and I need your help: I am fussing with which Mozart flute concerto to use in a wedding in my new book. I keep having Alexa play them and trying to figure out which is best. Isn’t that hilarious?
    And non dimenticar— I remember I used to love that song. And I am not tired of Volare! Yay for the new book—it’s terrific.

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    1. Dear Hank, thank you so much. You’re such a force! And so generous with your support. Well, Mozart only wrote two flute concerti, so you don’t exactly have an embarrassment of choice. I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Non dimenticar is the same song Nat King Cole sang, but in the book it’s the complete Italian version. No English. And Volare, well, everyone loves that song. Until you’ve heard it a million times... thanks again, Hank. And thanks for the lovely blurb you provided.

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    2. So tell me which one! There is G &… D?

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    3. OK, done. I switched from G back to D. And there it is. Leaving it. Xxx

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  10. Sounds neat! The setup reminds me of the Decameron. You must have had that in mind, right? I'll be interested to see how the clues come out in the course of a round of storytelling.

    On a different note: how much do you worry about copyright as you write lyrics into your books? Quoting songs can get expensive fast, I'm told. Maybe this is why Lucio's tuning gives him trouble?

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    1. The Decameron was indeed the inspiration, James. I didn’t manage to write one hundred stories over their ten days at the villa, though. I trust readers will understand! As for the lyrics, Bella ciao isn’t under copyright, so no problem there. The other songs I only use a line or two at most. The publisher usually signals if there might be a problem. I think I’m okay with fair use here. Hope you read TURN TO STONE and enjoy! The stories so play a role of sorts in the mystery,..

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  11. Darling Jim, your name came up here just last week as I was telling the Reds and company what great table bait you were at Bouchercon. I don't know when I've enjoyed anything so much as the Cool Kids Table and all the people who saw you (how could you miss someone that tall with that hair), and stopped to talk, stayed for the rest of the evening.

    To those of you who haven't met Jim or read his books yet, you are in for a delightful experience. He is not only a superlative writer but an incredible person. Can you tell I adore him?

    He gave my daughter a signed copy of the "horsie book." It was the first time she'd met a real live author and had a real live book to go with. She said, and she's right, it makes such a difference knowing the writer.

    It was well worth several bottle of wine and one of single malt.

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    1. And in this newest book, music! All the way from Italian grovel songs to Mahler. Four more days to wait, sigh.

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    2. Dearest Ann. When I got home from Bouchercon, I told my wife that the best evening there was the one I spent at the “Cool Kids Table.” I had a blast chatting with you all for hours. And it’s true that everyone seemed to stop by, take a chair, and sit for a spell to talk. We were the Algonquins! The booze and company were wonderful.

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    3. Mahler, yes. Imagine Mahler’s Titan Symphony played on a single guitar!

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  12. Congratulations on your new release! Yes, Boccaccio's Decameron immediately came to mind, as well as the rubella epidemic of '63. What fun to relive the early days of the Beatles.

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    1. Thank you, Margaret. Yes, there was no vaccine at that time, as you know. It seemed a good substitute for the Black Death that sent the young people to the countryside in the Decameron! Not nearly so tragic. I hope you enjoy it. Besides the itching, that is.

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  13. There is nothing like hearing a song and flashing back in time! Back in the early 80s our office subscribed to Muzak. We used to play Name That Tune when we’d hear a muzaked song. I’m looking forward to your new Ellie story in Italy!

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    1. Thanks, Pat! I hope you enjoy the music and the mystery and the food and wine.

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  14. I know Jim is a music aficionado because the first time we met - at a dinner during Bouchercon - we spent most of the evening talking classical music and opera.

    I love the idea of being inspired by the Decameron. Several of my novels have been written with a classical piece of literature in mind - I find it doesn't tie me to re-writing a modern version of the story, but instead inspires certain themes and elements.

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    1. Thank you, Julia. I remember that dinner very well. St. Petersburg. I had cacio e pepe. It was delicious. And the conversation was delightful. Your thoughts on inspiration are spot on.

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  15. James, welcome to Jungle Reds! My uncle loved your book. I bought your book at Bouchercon in Toronto and gave him your signed copy for his birthday. Congratulations on your new novel!

    Diana

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    1. Thank you, Diana! So glad he’s enjoying the books. Hope you’ll read them too!

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    2. On my tbr list. I bought so many books!

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  16. Love this, Jim. Music is the underpinning for our lives (or at least it always has been for me), and nothing evokes a time and place better than music. Okay, maybe smell does, but music is so much more....musical! Can't wait to read the new book, mio amico! baci

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    1. Thank you, Leslie! You’ll find lots of food in this book, too. Not as sumptuously described as in your Sally Solari books, but I gave it a shot. Remember that Ellie Stone is no foodie. She thinks cocktail weenies and Martini olives is a balanced meal meat and vegetables.

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    2. And congrats again on your Lefty nomination! I’m so happy for you!

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    3. Cocktail weenies and Martini olives sounds pretty good to me: antipasti!

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  17. Shalom Reds and fans. Shalom Jim. I remember my introduction to the Beatles. I think I was in the fifth grade of elementary school. Several of the boys in my class were wearing Beatle wigs. I had no clue about why “beetle wigs” should be all the rage. I was just starting to listen to “top 40” radio. That was almost 60 years ago and I still know all the words to so many songs. And after I tire of the news of the day, I listen endlessly to all sorts of music: classical, jazz and all sorts of other stuff. I will look out for this book.

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    1. Thanks, David. Hope you enjoy it.
      Ellie is partial to classical, but she enjoys the Italian pop songs and Bella ciao. The Beatles thing was fun to write. Fun to put myself in a time before they were well know in the US. Shalom!

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    2. This discussion reminds me of one of my favorite Italian songs of the era: Al di la. Looking forward to reading about Ellie.
      Reader Kay

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  18. There are two things that I can always get excited about: books and music. I'm an amateur but devoted musician and this book sounds like just my thing.

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