Stone Reader-Movie

From what we have seen so far, this movie is much different than I had imagined it would be. It is more of a documentary style, and seems to have more of a home video feel than a major motion picture feel. It involves several aspects of this man’s life, more than just his mission. It shows how many different friends he has, and their different connections to possible helping him along his venture.

His mission is to find the book entitled, “The Stones of Summer” and to possibly get in touch with the author. There were not traces of it online or in the reader’s digest in the library. It wasn’t until he went to the library and tracked down a review written on the book, that he was given something to go off of. The man who wrote the review is named John Sealy.

This film involves several members of his family. He went to his mom’s house to ask her what he was like when he bought and read “The Stones of Summer”. She told him that it was in late May of ’72 when he was sick in bed, that he read the book. Another member of the family that is involved is his wife, although she refuses to be filmed on camera from the knee up. Her name is Clare, and she designed the house that they live in and created a place for her husband to be able to work from the home.

Later, he finds out that the publisher of the book is dead. He found a lady on an airplane to carries the book around with her encase she finds someone who has read it. This shows how the book has impacted someone other than himself. At one point in the movie he says, “reading is the only thing that keeps me sane”. We are told that in general, it is more common for authors to write one book and stop than to write several books. This seems to be the case with the author of “The Stones of Summer”.

He finally decides to go to visit John Sealy, the man who wrote the only review ever written on this book. He shows up to his house, and brings tons of different books to talk about with him. After meeting Sealy he says, “I felt like I’d known him my whole life.” Later, he receives a letter from the agent of the author of “The Stones of Summer”. The book was dedicated to a professor at the University of Iowa. Catch 22 was his favorite book as a child. We are also told that in general, a review that was put on the front page of the NY Times would start a book and give it the publicity it needs to really become something, but that a review on the third page would not have as great of an impact.

The fact that he is going to such great lengths to find a book really impresses upon the fact that this book had an incredible impact on him. It went beyond a “good read” and really touched something inside of him, and made his life different in some way. His diligence and hard work is really something to be admired. He goes above and beyond in order to try to find what he is looking for.