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Grady Harp wrote on 07/10/2011:

'So who is Kriss Rudolph and why is he such a great writer and we haven't heard about him? A little exploring of this very handsome German author reveals 'After studying in Dusseldorf, Germany (Anglistics and German language and literature), Kriss Rudolph started working as an emcee for TV and Radio. While working in Los Angeles for various German magazines, he did the research for his novel "L.A. Affair". ' Then we discover that L.A. AFFAIR is his seventh novel, and it appears the only one translated into English (by Jeffrey Essmann). We have Bruno Gmünder Verlag to thank for this introduction to American audiences and hopefully they will make his other books available as well.

Reading the first chapters of Rudolph's vastly entertaining novel raises the question - is Kriss Rudolph to Los Angeles what Christopher Isherwood is to Berlin? Both authors lived in the cities about which they write and both authors are able to distill the essence of those expatriate experiences with such skill that they become instantly informed flaneurs, capable of visualizing not only the particular landscape but also the mannerisms and language that make LA and Berlin such fine fodder for stories.

Ben is a furry chest loving romantic who leaves his home (and his best friend and confidant Paula) in Berlin and in a searching for love in all the right places moves to Los Angeles to live with the man of his dreams, Adam. But arriving in LA he soon finds that Adam has cold feet (in the emotional status form) and Ben, distraught, is on his own. He makes friends with some couples, frequents the Abbey in West Hollywood, has some on nighters with a variety of non-partner prospects and meets James, a physical trainer who meets all of Ben's prerequisites but is (surprise!) unavailable. Ben finds work writing for a newspaper, then working for a little theater, encounters all manner of people on his journey to reclaim Adam, or to corner James, or make the decision to simply move back to Berlin. The travails of a jilted lover are the kindling for the bonfire of hilarious and sad incidents through which Ben accompanies us. The ending? Read it and find out.

One of the things that makes Ben such a completely lovable character is his humanity. He copes with 'LA types', finds humor is just about everything, takes us places that the audience not from West Hollywood likely have never known, and he mixes his fantasy life with reality like clicks from Dorothy's ruby red slippers: one minute the reader thinks Ben has found and secured his passions and the next moment we realize they are just dreams or longings or frustrated events. His cast of characters includes hustlers, odd bar creeps, the ubiquitous film and TV actors and crewmen, theater people and other bits of parody he treats so graciously that there are no demons in this Cinderella's garden. Perseverance reigns in Ben and with the constant off center advice from Paula back in Berlin Ben figures it out. This affair that he pursues is so very LA, much more than most other native writers have produced. L.A. AFFAIR is a sparkling, witty, constantly entertaining book. More please.

Grady Harp