There is an old saying, that one can never truly sing a duet unless they are in love, fully in love for the 2 minute duration of the song. Its an illusion, of course, an illusion that must come temporarily true to have any credibility whatsoever.
Enter the world of Meredith Mann. The craft of acting requires prolonged journeys into sustaining that fabric-of-illusion-become-reality far beyond a duet, and as Merry's story unfolds between the pages of 'The Fourth Wall' you will find yourself in love with his character, as sincerely as if you were his singing partner.
Author Michael Alton Gottlieb paints a story with a sparse brush, the fine deft lines of his art painting a mesmerizing character study that brings you in fully, almost without you knowing you have been pulled in... you are no longer the audience, but fully immersed in the world he has created. The characters are well developed and sympathetic, and as their stories intertwine through all the variables of their complex lives, you feel you know them. That is the true craft of an artist, to make you suspend belief so fully you are in their world, and your own fades entirely for the duration.
A story should have tragedy, magic and complexity, and 'The Fourth Wall" delivers. Madness and redemption, folly and fate, (for ill or better) all dance between the pages in a story not as much about acting as the human condition itself.
I read the book fully three times. As a bibliophile with an immense personal library, I have to say I fell in love with the book for the full duration each time anew.
This is a must-read, and a steal on Amazon on Kindle for $5.99, or paperback at $8.96
I prefer real books, myself. But no matter how you read? You will love it.