Guess whose books are grabbed off the shelves moment they hit stands. Sidney Sheldon, of course! However, there are many who criticize him. But, I adore his craft so much that I commit his sentences to memory for sheer pleasure of using elsewhere to recreate a similar effect. Though I read his books countless times, I still wouldn’t back foot in picking any of his titles and re-reading again for nth time. Mildly put, most of his sentences are hotly branded in my mind.
Unaware of my passion for Sheldon’s books, out of the blue, a blogger friend handed out an autobiography of Sheldon ‘The other side of me’. I hadn’t an inkling, Sheldon’s biography even existed. The tome looked no less than 400 pages and I was filled with pure delight.
The book was phenomenal and quirky punches all through were resplendent of Sheldon’s streak of genius. As always, I wished that the book wouldn’t end. ‘The other side of me’ picked up pace in early pages itself; As a result, read past midnight. The book gave me new insights. New perspectives. New understandings. All doubts I had about his writings instantly erased.
What always surprised me was how Sheldon knew so well about pits of poverty and highlife of wealthy which he depicts so commonly in his stories. After reading his biography I understood he swung from one extreme to the other frequently. It was clear that failure and success were his buddies all through life.
Fascinatingly, even names accorded to characters in his stories were from his real life though they have been altered a bit. While immensely talented, he hardly comes across real success in life. He won an ‘Oscar’ yet he was always out of job. His scriptwriting for broadways didn’t really put him in spotlight either. Neither did the movies.
It was only when he went on to script novels; he found his groove. He affirms unlike scriptwriting, which constantly got altered by directors or adapted to scenes, he was free to write whatever he wanted to. This, I believe, has granted him enormous scope for exercising his creative judgment. ‘The naked face’, the first book he wrote, based on a Psychiatrist, is actually picked up from his own life story. Sheldon was diagnosed for ‘bipolar disorder’ – a disorder where the patient suffers from acute bouts of depression and euphoria almost at the same time. If I am not mistaken even the Psychiatrist’s name ‘Judd’ remains the same in novel.
Here's what I found incredibly interesting about his launch of the first book, ‘Naked Face’. On the same day, there were three other writers, who launched their books. For book signing, all of the three had long queues. But there wasn’t a single person in front of Sheldon’s desk. Sheldon didn’t know where to look, so he put his head down and started scribbling on a piece of paper. After sometime, an old woman appeared and asked, ‘What’s the name of the book. He replied, she said, ‘Alright, I’ll buy it’. Sheldon goes on to say, “It was not out of pleasure that she bought it, but as an act of mercy”. I like the candidness with which he views everything. Incidentally, the book went on to become a phenomenal best seller, winning an Edgar award for the best mystery novel.
His embarking on writing novels has whetted the appetite of many a soul hungry for mystery stories. The twists in the plot are no less praise worthy either. Each book takes you through a feeling of free falling and landing on an enormous comfortable cushion. Of course, not always a cushion. But definitely through a high you can’t really put in words. I guess many of us owe it to Sheldon for playing his role to the hilt.
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