Andrew Lewis Conn (P) sculpts a seriocomic view of American racism and anti-Semitism against the background of the nascent late-1920s film industry. Brooklyn-born twins Micah and Izzy Grand (originally Grombotz) share a life passion: filmmaking. Otherwise, they couldn't be more different. Big-mouthed Micah goes through life zestfully, indulging in all the gambling, drinking and women his heart desires while introverted Izzy, a gay man who refuses to indulge his urges, is more comfortable in the editing room than with other people.
Their studio president's new moneymaking scheme--making stock footage of foreign locations--sends Micah and Izzy to Africa. While neither initially wants to go, Micah's enormous gambling debts to a black gangster happen to come due at the same time. Packing up their crew, the brothers head off intending to return with stock footage, a new silent film for the studio--and a secret. In place of repayment, the gangsters have ordered Micah to make a picture about the history of the slave trade. What the crew ultimately discovers and endures will forever change the way they see film, humanity and themselves.
Alternating between insight and slapstick, Conn delivers a serious historical commentary disguised as a cinematic romp. In 1928, political correctness did not exist, and he pulls no punches when accurately depicting the casual acceptance of prejudice, including racial slurs and hate crimes. As Izzy Grand says, "Point a camera at something, you change it." Readers who watch through the lens of Conn's brazen yet thoughtful sophomore novel won't look at film the same way again. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads