Dana Sachs's "The Secret of the Nightingale Palace," the movie

Now showing at My Book, The Movie: The Secret of the Nightingale Palace by Dana Sachs.

The entry begins:

Asking a writer to “cast” their novel as a movie is a little bit like taking a hungry person to a fabulous restaurant and inviting them to eat whatever they want. Even if it’s a fantasy, it’s a temptation that I imagine most of us will want to indulge. So, here goes.

The Secret of the Nightingale Palace tells the story of 85-year-old Goldie Rosenthal and her 35-year-old newly widowed granddaughter, Anna, as they drive from New York to San Francisco to return a collection of Japanese art to its original owner. The novel also follows Goldie back in time to San Francsico during World War II, when she was a young woman trying to make it on nothing but ambition and a terrific sense of style. For the movie, I’m going to cast four parts: Goldie (young Goldie and elderly Goldie), Anna, and the original owner of the art collection, a San Francisco antique dealer named Henry Nakamura.

For the older Goldie, I’ll cast Maggie Smith, who can do imperious better than anyone, but can also show a softer side (and is a good enough actress, I believe, to pull off an American Southern accent). For Goldie as a younger woman, I’ll pick...[read on]

Learn more about the book and author at Dana Sachs's website, blog, and Facebook page.

The Page 69 Test: The Secret of the Nightingale Palace.

My Book, The Movie: The Secret of the Nightingale Palace.

--Marshal Zeringue