Dance with the Devil, Novel

From Publisher's Weekly:

Fans of silver screen legend Douglas ( The Ragman's Son ) are bound to

enjoy his credible fiction debut, a sometimes spellbinding, solidly

commercial tale of Hollywood producer Danny Dennison, who as a boy is the

only one of his family to survive a Nazi concentration camp. The orphaned

youngster locks the secret of this Jewish birthright deep within him, where

it festers for decades, distancing him from those he loves. By age 55,

Danny has lost interest in the moneymaking films he churns out, and has

reaped a bitter harvest from the dissolution of his joyless marriage to a

wealthy alcoholic whose powerful father intends to destroy Danny's career.

Enter young, sensual Luba, the quintessential whore with a heart of

gold--which she naturally saves for Danny despite his inexplicable surges

of anger and cold withdrawal. Luba reawakens all Danny's desires, including

a hunger to redeem himself as an artist and a Jew. Douglas acquits himself

well when liming the complicated mix of love and need that binds Luba and

her mother Magda, but relies on cliches to put flesh on most other

characters, including Danny himself and his crass agent and buddy Milt.

Nonetheless, this is highly readable, entertaining drama. Literary Guild

dual selection. (June) -Publisher's Weekly

From Library Journal:

Readers of Douglas's autobiography, The Ragman's Son (LJ 10/15/88), will

speculate on the parallels in his first novel, which also chronicles the

rise to fame of a Russian-Jewish emigre in Hollywood moviedom. The first

half of the book alternates chapters about Moishe, who becomes director

Danny Dennison, with the story of Luba, a Polish refugee who uses sex as a

survival tool. She is a London prostitute when she first encounters the

successful but unhappy protagonist, and he is at once captivated by her

honest charm and the stories she tells about her hardknocks past. Luba

makes Danny realize that he has prostituted his talent and denied a

long-suppressed secret. This awkward attempt at fiction is devoid of both

style and substance, but public libraries should anticipate high demand

from the legion of Douglas's fans. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ

2/15/90.--Will Hepfer, SUNY at Buffalo Libs. -Library Journal