PRAISE FOR THE SADNESS
“The Sadness is a novel with film noir appeal: gritty and absorbing, with just a touch of glamour. Morally ambiguous siblings Kelly and Max, each compelled by their own obsessions and failures, succumb to the pull of home in order to resolve the crippling events of their pasts. With vivid, measured prose, Benjamin Rybeck delivers his characters from the depths of madness toward a quietly optimistic end, in which they discover something far more important than what they thought they were searching for: each other.”
—CHRIS CANDER, AUTHOR OF WHISPER HOLLOW
“You’ll hear among the many declarations of Benjamin Rybeck’s single-minded protagonist in The Sadness, ‘Film is a matter of life and death… the director has no choice but to make a film to save his or her own life.’ While this sentiment is shared by others, Maxwell Enright delivers it more as personal manifesto, a possessory truth to which you had better listen. Rybeck has created a razor-sharp blade held with unflinching certainty, the kind only possible within the labyrinthian and door-kicking noisy head of a young artist fighting to find a way out.”
—TODD FIELD
“Benjamin Rybeck’s The Sadness is a book full of wisdom about the fumbling, grasping attempts we all make to fill the emptiness inside us, a book that ultimately leaves the reader feeling less alone in the world.”
—JOSHUA FURST, AUTHOR OF THE SABOTAGE CAFE
“With this impressive debut, Benjamin Rybeck perfectly captures what it’s like to be young and lost, unprepared for adult life, and utterly broken by the past. Rybeck has so much to say—about celebrity, cinema, family, and art as both a weapon and a shield—and he says it all with great intelligence and wit.”
—MIKE HARVKEY, AUTHOR OF IN THE COURSE OF HUMAN EVENTS
“Often humorous, sometimes touching, newcomer Rybeck’s tale of youthful woe portrays a generation full of promise as it runs aground.”
—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“The Sadness is a rapturous, absorbing and wholly original novel that announces Rybeck as a surprising and inventive young writer.”
—KRISTEN RADTKE
The Unnamed Press
P.O. Box 411272
Los Angeles, CA 90041
Published in North America by The Unnamed Press.
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
Copyright 2016 © Benjamin Rybeck
ISBN: 978-1-939419-92-7
Library of Congress Control Number:
2016940594
This book is distributed by Publishers Group West
Designed & typeset by Jaya Nicely
Cover art by Matt Molloy
Nick Flynn, excerpts from “Elsewhere, Mon Amour” from Some Ether.
Copyright © 2000 by Nick Flynn. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company, Inc. on behalf of Graywolf Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota, www.graywolfpress.org.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are wholly fictional or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. Permissions inquiries may be directed to [email protected].
For My Buddy (Ch-Ch, Ch-Ch)
November 10, 2007
Portland, Maine
Dear sir,
I write to you regarding my film, The Glazen Shelves, so forgive me if I stumble—whenever one describes cinematic artistry of the highest order, words seem inadequate. Nevertheless, I must attempt to convey the nature of my film, the end result being that you, justifiably impressed, will provide the necessary support to finish it.
To summarize the plot of The Glazen Shelves proves difficult, for the film’s greatness lies not in its story but rather its atmosphere, evoking the same decadence as Fellini, the same humanity as Renoir, the same dread as Haneke. It centers on a young man named Aaron, a resident of Portland, Maine. He goes to a high school where idiots surround him—wealthy idiots who imbibe spirits, ingest pharmaceuticals, and harass Aaron for not wanting anything to do with their foul preoccupations. Aaron, being intellectually beyond these people, desires some form of stronger connection—to be around somebody who respects him and wants to hear what he has to say, instead of being around his foolish peers, who don’t appreciate his originality and genius. Enter Natalie, whom Aaron meets and befriends. She is the opposite of those cretins who cram the hallways of his high school, and she bonds with him through a shared love of cinema. The film is an ode to their beautiful, pure friendship.
Now, as to the reason The Glazen Shelves sits unfinished: I began it several years ago, when I was in high school. I played the role of Aaron, and my best friend, Evelyn, played the role of Natalie. We shot roughly half of the film before unforeseen circumstances tragically ended the production. I had given up on the project, until this past May, when I saw the news of Darren Stanford’s success with Land Without Water at the Cannes Film Festival. Now that I have seen his film, I must reunite Evelyn and myself to finish The Glazen Shelves posthaste.
I write to you because, in addition to being an Oscar-nominated filmmaker, you are a Maine dweller, and you will feel an instant connection to my material. Furthermore, I am aware that you helped Darren Stanford secure funds for Land Without Water; clearly, you like to help Maine-based filmmakers (Stanford and I are both from Portland, you know). Fairness dictates that you also help finance my film, which, I must add, is far superior to Stanford’s.
Seriously, how could you have lent your support to such a waste? I expect more from you, given your association with Kubrick. Surely you are able to understand the difference between artistry and hackery. Not every day does a filmmaker emerge from Portland, Maine, which is the reason it’s especially important to choose the right one when the opportunity arises. You threw your support behind the wrong one. But worry not: I am here to redeem you. Helping me finish The Glazen Shelves will go a long way toward rectifying your mistake.
Now, as to what I require from you:
I require help securing funds somewhere in the ballpark of $4 million (we can sit down over a budget and discuss specifics).
I require 70mm cameras, sound recording equipment, and access to a first-rate editing/mixing studio.
I require a crew, although a skeleton crew will suffice. (Perhaps members of the crew you worked with on Little Children? Or if you’re still in touch with any of the people Kubrick used on Eyes Wide Shut…)
I require a letter from you, sent to the people in positions of power at Focus Features and Sony Pictures Classics, vouching for the greatness of my film. Or, if you believe the film festival route better, I require you to submit the film, on my behalf, to Cannes, Sundance, Berlin, Venice, and all the others worthy of my achievement.
On all these points, I am unbending, so if you do not agree, we should sever our association immediately.
Please let me know when we can begin our work together to complete my masterpiece.
Sincerely,