In a splintering Yugoslavia in 1989, an American film director, working on a low-budget horror movie, pursues a last-ditch attempt to stave off financial and marital collapse, and redeem himself by finally doing something great.
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SYNOPSIS
Set in a country on the verge of collapse with the rise of Slobodan Milošević and the fall of the Communist Party, the story traces the rise and fall of Stephen Krawczyk. A struggling Hollywood director, Stephen takes a job directing a low-budget horror film, his “big break,” a chance at achieving fame and fortune, but more importantly, redemption—he’s in a fight to save his marriage. However, while working behind the Iron Curtain, he must navigate the formidable obstacles presented by a low-budget movie production in a foreign country—colliding Italian, Serbian and American cultures; duplicitous producers; rebellious actors; a vengeful police captain; revolution in the streets; and ultimately, worst of all, the consequences of betrayal.
“In 1989, Stephen [Krawczyk] is given the opportunity of a lifetime—his chance to ‘realize a dream, to redeem himself, to mend the cosmic rip, to begin life anew’—to direct his first real film, a vampire flick titled Infernal Beauty. While trying to maintain some semblance of control and finish the film, Stephen also struggles to manage the consequences of his infidelities.” —Kirkus Reviews
“From the very start of Falling Stars Over Belgrade, Kwitny quickly and deftly immerses the reader in the heart and psyche of the protagonist Stephen Krawczyk/Crawford and doesn’t let go. Structured in short chapters, the book whips you along with vivid scenes moving back and forth between three entangled complexities for Stephen: trying to turn an ultra-low budget horror flick into art; trying to save a marriage that has become ever more precious to him even as he journeys alone 6000 miles away; and all the while navigating a culture entirely foreign to him in a country that could blow up at any moment.
”Kwitny has remarkable skill in bringing these three challenges into unexpected crises simultaneously making for a page turning experience in the final part of the novel. I experienced these crises viscerally because, by that point, Stephen has become full flesh and blood human, full of such admirable qualities of aspiration for what he deeply desires in his art and his marriage yet so deeply flawed and so down-to-earth human (counter to his wish to be a Hollywood God).
On top of all this, as a move fan, I was treated to a feast of insider details and was given a vivid tour through Belgrade in the late 20th century which was quite enjoyable as I missed it in my post-college Europe tour.
I loved this book as much as I loved Desolation Lake. Now eager for Kwitny’s next novel.”
—Amazon Review
“Set in 1989, this engrossing thriller finds a struggling Hollywood director entangled in a sinister conspiracy.”
“A behind-the-scenes look at what it's really like making a movie — the drama, the highs, the lows, the madness, the hopes of glory — all of it is riveting.”
—The Prairies Book Review
“A searing insider’s peek behind the scenes that takes readers on a roller coaster ride as it depicts an up-and-coming director hanging on for dear life. Kwitny’s story—full of the absurdity and misadventure, manic hope and heartbreak that artists in any field will be able to relate to—rings true.”
—Eric Jordan Baker, Deluxe Entertainment
“Kwitny’s story of the making of a B-movie as the Iron Curtain falls is clever.”
—Kirkus Reviews
In Belgrade, where principal photography would take place, Stephen would make a great movie—he was sure of it. He had a priest’s pious faith in his own talent. He’d nurtured a dream of becoming a great movie director since boyhood, and he was determined to fulfill it. He would succeed. Besides, wasn’t that what his mother had always told him? “You can achieve anything you set your mind to, Stephen,” she’d said, when he was very little. “Anything imaginable.” After he completed the movie, more projects would certainly come his way. And just possibly, he might someday receive a Star of Fame at the intersection of Hollywood and Vine.
A pipe dream? Many people, thousands, shared this aspiration. Should he have asked for time to reflect before accepting their offer? It was a job directing a real motion picture, the Holy Grail in Hollywood. Who would have thought for more than a second?
Not in this town.
—from FALLING STARS OVER BELGRADE
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