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His poem, The Coyote’s Den, was included in the Civil War Anthology, Filtered Through Time. He has also published a collection of short stories entitled, The New Neighbor, and a poetry collection Your Voice Spoke To My Ear. Mike is the author of two critically acclaimed novels, Aquarius Falling and Capricorn’s Collapse. This experience left him with an unlimited imagination and the ability to write electrifying short stories and novels. Growing up in the cold northern climate of Pittsburgh, PA, and an only child, Mike was often trapped indoors and left to his own devices, where he would create space ships out of cardboard boxes, convert his mother’s ironing board into a horse and put on his Sunday suit and tie and his father’s fedora and become a newspaper reporter or police detective. In Paint It Blacksuicide is the fuel that drives the story. Fitch she touches on it in her best-selling coming-of-age novel, White Oleander. Fitch deftly plays out Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ Five Stages of Grief that Josie endures in her pursuit of trying to learn the why’s of Michael’s death. What would she find? What would she learn? Meredith, Michael’s mother, says to Josie, “you loved him, but you didn’t love him enough to save him.” Josie and Meredith engage in a battle of blame before reconciling over their mutual love for Michael.Įventually Josie breaks away from Meredith in search of resolution, and travels to the stark desert town of Twentynine Palms, and the seedy motel where Michael put a. As often happen in deaths by suicide those remaining behind blame themselves. She has to identify the body of Michael Faraday. Faraday’s mother is a world-renowned pianist, his grandfather a legendary composer.Įverything changes for Josie when she receives a call from the Los Angles County Coroner’s office. Josie is a rough girl with a troubled background from Bakersfield, CA, who believes she’s found the path to love and happiness with boyfriend, Harvard dropout, and artist, Michael Faraday. It begins with the unlikeable protagonist, Josie Tyrell, a nude model, in a frustrating pose for her artist, and a heightened state of frustration at the repetitive sound of John Lennon and Yoko Ono performing “Double Fantasy.” Lennon has just been murdered and the world is in mourning. Paint It Black is set in the 1980’s punk rock scene of LA. The lyrics go on to suggest an unexpected and sudden death, and include a vague reference to heaven.Īnd for all these reasons, it makes a perfect title for Ms.

“I see a line of cars painted black.” It doesn’t take much to conclude this is a funeral procession.

The song’s viewpoint is from a depressed person who wants everything painted black to match his mood. While the song is not about war, it is easy to see why war veterans are drawn to it.

#PAINT IT BLACK COVER FULL#

The song was also used in the film Full Metal Jacket, and the television series Tour of Duty, both about the Vietnam War. The song is heavily associated with the Vietnam War, and has great meaning for many combat veterans from that war. The lyric is “I see a red door and I want it painted black.” It’s also worth noting that the title phrase does not appear in the song. This must have been to the great consternation of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the songwriters, who properly did not include the comma in the song’s title. Today marks the 50 th anniversary of the Rolling Stones release of their iconic song “ Paint It Black.” I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate this anniversary than with a brief discussion of the song, and since Late Last Night Books is a literary blog, include a review of Janet Fitch’s 2006 best selling novel by the same name.Īstute readers will notice the album cover has a coma between “It” and “Black.” Grammarians among us will interrupt this to mean a man by the name of Black is being instructed to paint “It”…whatever “It” is.

A Review of Paint It Black, a novel by Janet Fitch

Paint it black cover