A GHOST IN THE MUSIC by John Nichols

Finished Fr 11/7/14

Marcel Thompson
Bart Darling
Lorraine Waldrum
Kitty Thompson
'Dolphin Bays'- The East Coast estate where Bart grew up
'Chamisaville County, New Mexico'- The mythical area where the action is centered. This is the locale that Nichols has set most of his novels.

John Nichols wikipedia-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Nichols_(writer)

Marcel Thompson is the adult illegitimate adult child of Bart Darling and he receives a telephone call at 3 am out of the blue where he lives in NYC. Bart's new girlfriend, Lorraine Waldrum has left him and he wants Marcel to come out to New Mexico to plead with her to stay.

Bart is a classic womanizer who specializes in Playboy styled floozies, however Lorraine is a scrappy guitar playing waif who is clearly not his type, yet they truly love each other. But, Bart's suicidal tendencies have forced Lorraine to end the relationship....." I didn't sign on to be your pallbearer".

Bart is an actor/director/stunt person who is shooting a B Movie in Chamisaville County. The headquarters of the operation are in a ramshackle mansion that he owns that's full of strange characters who assist in the movie making. Hippy Carnival Atmosphere/sex/drugs/rock'n'roll to the max.

The story turns on a stunt that Bart is supposed to do in which he will leapt off a bridge and parachute to safety hundreds of feet down in a ravine. Lorraine is pregnant with his child and says that if he jumps, she leaves and aborts the child. She does, and Marcel drives her to the operation.

The stunt goes off without a hitch, and Bart dies of a massive heart attack just after he completes the stunt.

This is a slim novel and an enjoyable look at a very unusual relationship concerning the love between a father and son. And, the father is truly a 'larger than life' individual. Father as God.

THEME- It's better to burn out than to rust