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The Days of the Bitter End
"Where were you when it happened?" We've all been asked this question about many huge tragedies, but one of the biggest is when President Kennedy was assassinated. Lee Harvey Oswald, the grassy knoll, the presidential cavalcade of cars ... all of these images are forever imbedded in our nation's memory. Jack Engelhard, however, gives us a fresh perspective on this occurrence by putting it in a different light entirely. What happens to you when you imitate President Kennedy for a living?
Cliff Harris rises to stardom in the golden years between World War II and Vietnam. He bears an uncanny resemblance to John F. Kennedy and can imitate him so well that even Jackie is shocked. His small-town Philadelphia beginnings eventually lead him to The Ed Sullivan Show and many sold-out performances in Greenwich Village. The Bitter End, a real comedy club at which Engelhard was the doorman for two summers, provides the perfect backdrop for pop historical fiction at its finest. We witness a snapshot of the life of Lenny Bruce firsthand. We meet Ben Jaffa, a holocaust survivor who has an equal part in the story with Cliff Harris. He is, by his own definition, "not a patriot, but grateful."
Engelhard's writing is superb, and he offers up a slice of 1960s life that is vibrant and moving. Although the story revolves around the rise to and fall from stardom by Cliff Harris, it is skillfully crafted so as not to be depressing, but rather quite witty and intriguing. The biggest lesson I found myself taking away from this book was that an era and the tragedy that defines that era can carry resounding effects for decades to come." Carie Morrison, writing for Rambles
Cliff Harris rises to stardom in the golden years between World War II and Vietnam. He bears an uncanny resemblance to John F. Kennedy and can imitate him so well that even Jackie is shocked. His small-town Philadelphia beginnings eventually lead him to The Ed Sullivan Show and many sold-out performances in Greenwich Village. The Bitter End, a real comedy club at which Engelhard was the doorman for two summers, provides the perfect backdrop for pop historical fiction at its finest. We witness a snapshot of the life of Lenny Bruce firsthand. We meet Ben Jaffa, a holocaust survivor who has an equal part in the story with Cliff Harris. He is, by his own definition, "not a patriot, but grateful."
Engelhard's writing is superb, and he offers up a slice of 1960s life that is vibrant and moving. Although the story revolves around the rise to and fall from stardom by Cliff Harris, it is skillfully crafted so as not to be depressing, but rather quite witty and intriguing. The biggest lesson I found myself taking away from this book was that an era and the tragedy that defines that era can carry resounding effects for decades to come." Carie Morrison, writing for Rambles
280 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 1998
30 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 28, 2015
The Days of the Bitter End is another masterpiece by Jack Engelhard. As a history buff I appreciate reading about times I have not (really) experienced. Jack delivers. His portrayal of Greenwich Village 1963 lets the aura of time and place come alive. The descriptions are so vivid I could almost hear Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Peter, Paul, and Mary singing.
But there is much more. By creating his character Cliff Harris, the comedian and John Kennedy impersonator, Jack creates the opportunity to have Cliff tell us what Americans were thinking about the president's political decisions and life; people interact with Cliff, the impersonator, since they cannot speak directly to the president.
The more I read the more I got drawn into the book. I wanted to know what was going to happen even though that was clear from the beginning. Kennedy would get shot and obviously his impersonator would not have a career anymore. Suspense arises as Jack's characters take little steps in attempt to live their lives to the fullest. As readers we cannot help but rooting for them and then - unexpectedly sudden - Kennedy is shot and everything is falling apart. I was a baby when John Kennedy got assassinated but I do remember Robert Kennedy getting shot. I had found my mother in the kitchen, weeping almost out of control. The radio was running. Why was she sobbing like I had never seen before? She explained to me that that man, who she had shown me on the cover of a magazine only a few weeks prior, that man who had been depicted with his wife and ten children, who wanted to be president, had been shot. Being six, living in Europe, I could not grasp why anybody would want to shoot a man who wanted to be president of the United States. Seeing my mother weep, I realized that this was a much bigger tragedy than I could understand. It is exactly this feeling that radiates out of Jack's book's pages. Even though Jack's characters and everybody else can guess that history just took a terrible and unexpected turn, nobody can grasp what is about to unravel on many levels. Jack is a master in letting this feeling of uncertainty come alive. Having peeked over the shoulder of Jack's vivacious character Louise Carmen, "we feel" how "she feels" when we read: "Louise Carmen was not young anymore. Then again, nobody was."
Lastly, Jack has his characters Cliff, Ben, and Lenny ask the big questions and make the big statements.
"Is America still a nation or have we simply become an audience?"
"You're not after the truth?"
"Illusion is America and Elvis and I say thank God for illusion."
With such Jack makes us think and reflect. The Days of the Bitter End delivers much more than a fictitious story set in 1963. I highly recommend this book.
But there is much more. By creating his character Cliff Harris, the comedian and John Kennedy impersonator, Jack creates the opportunity to have Cliff tell us what Americans were thinking about the president's political decisions and life; people interact with Cliff, the impersonator, since they cannot speak directly to the president.
The more I read the more I got drawn into the book. I wanted to know what was going to happen even though that was clear from the beginning. Kennedy would get shot and obviously his impersonator would not have a career anymore. Suspense arises as Jack's characters take little steps in attempt to live their lives to the fullest. As readers we cannot help but rooting for them and then - unexpectedly sudden - Kennedy is shot and everything is falling apart. I was a baby when John Kennedy got assassinated but I do remember Robert Kennedy getting shot. I had found my mother in the kitchen, weeping almost out of control. The radio was running. Why was she sobbing like I had never seen before? She explained to me that that man, who she had shown me on the cover of a magazine only a few weeks prior, that man who had been depicted with his wife and ten children, who wanted to be president, had been shot. Being six, living in Europe, I could not grasp why anybody would want to shoot a man who wanted to be president of the United States. Seeing my mother weep, I realized that this was a much bigger tragedy than I could understand. It is exactly this feeling that radiates out of Jack's book's pages. Even though Jack's characters and everybody else can guess that history just took a terrible and unexpected turn, nobody can grasp what is about to unravel on many levels. Jack is a master in letting this feeling of uncertainty come alive. Having peeked over the shoulder of Jack's vivacious character Louise Carmen, "we feel" how "she feels" when we read: "Louise Carmen was not young anymore. Then again, nobody was."
Lastly, Jack has his characters Cliff, Ben, and Lenny ask the big questions and make the big statements.
"Is America still a nation or have we simply become an audience?"
"You're not after the truth?"
"Illusion is America and Elvis and I say thank God for illusion."
With such Jack makes us think and reflect. The Days of the Bitter End delivers much more than a fictitious story set in 1963. I highly recommend this book.
August 29, 2012
A brilliantly written book by the doorman for the Bitter End Cafe. Jack Engelhard was a first hand witness to the zestful days of Dylan, Peter Paul and Mary, Lenny Bruce...Cosby, Streisand...all of them. He saw Beat turned to Hip.
The characters are instantly recognizable. They could have been alter egos for the ones I depict in my faction book Odyssey: 1970. It was a surprisingly inclusive time when caution was thrown to the winds and people lived as never before.
Jack Engelhard brilliantly weaves his tapestry, leaving the reader feeling heis standing there on Bleecker St. I was there in '62 and so can attest to the atmosphere he so brilliantly re-creates. But there is much more. The story winds up covering from 62-68, spans both coasts and of course Vietnam.
I finished it with tears in my eyes....tears for a bygone era...for friends now all grown up....
You just couldn't stay forever in NeverNever Land.
The characters are instantly recognizable. They could have been alter egos for the ones I depict in my faction book Odyssey: 1970. It was a surprisingly inclusive time when caution was thrown to the winds and people lived as never before.
Jack Engelhard brilliantly weaves his tapestry, leaving the reader feeling heis standing there on Bleecker St. I was there in '62 and so can attest to the atmosphere he so brilliantly re-creates. But there is much more. The story winds up covering from 62-68, spans both coasts and of course Vietnam.
I finished it with tears in my eyes....tears for a bygone era...for friends now all grown up....
You just couldn't stay forever in NeverNever Land.
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