Review by: Elizabeth Burton
Blue Iris Review
As is often, if not usually,
the case with geniuses, Walter Elias Disney was a complex man filled with contradictions.
Those of us who grew up with TV in the fifties and sixties remember "Uncle
Walt," the smiling mustached man who visited our living rooms accompanied
by dwarves and deer and all manner of wonderful figments of his imagination.
More recent views, though, have revealed a man of deep prejudices whose drive
to achieve his dreams often left unneeded casualties in its wake. His vision
has been roundly condemned in some quarters as corrupting the integrity of classic
tales, causing entire generations of children to grow up knowing only "the
Disney version."
But whether one loves him, hates him or doesn't really care all that much either
way, there is no question that The Man Who Gave Us Mickey was a legend when
he surrendered to lung cancer in December 1966.
Or did he?
In this entertaining thriller by a former Disney executive, the House of Mouse
is under siege. A fumbling CEO has racked up a massive debt; and a ruthless
corporate raider is moving in for the kill, planning to auction the Disney empire
off in bits and pieces to the highest bidders once he gains control.
Former ad man Harry Poole is also on his way to disintegration. A broken marriage,
a vengeful ex and a too-great fondness for Bombay gin martinis has him all but
broke and working part time for his lover, Jenna, a security supervisor for
Walt Disney World in Orlando.
His slide comes to an abrupt halt with a phone call from Lisa Barrington, an
LA lawyer, advising him his Uncle Arthur has died and left him a sizeable inheritance.
Plane tickets and a comfortable hotel room accompany the news; and Harry is
left wondering how his uncle, who abandoned a medical career to become a mediocre
painter, managed to accumulate $100,000.
The answer to that question is a revelation that not only changes Harry's life
forever but puts him in grave danger of losing it, too. For Uncle Arthur was
one of a group of elderly men--a banker, a lawyer, a nearly blind actor and
an undertaker--who call themselves the Circle. For forty years they have guarded
a secret: Walt Disney didn't die that December night. Well, not exactly. He
has been in cryogenic storage awaiting a cure for his cancer, and Uncle Arthur
had his terminal stroke while attempting to steal a promising experimental drug
from a research hospital.
Because the House that Mickey Built is in trouble, and only one man can save
it--the man who created it in the first place. It's time for Walt to wake up.
Waking Walt is both a fast-paced, thoroughly engaging thriller and a fascinating
look at a character who has become an icon. Author Larry Pontius is no hero-worshipper--his
Disney is a cranky, stubborn tyrant. But he is also a man with an incredible
ability to dream and to see how those dreams might be made reality. The characters
that surround him are equally complex, giving the story bends and curves that
keep the reader constantly unsure who is doing what to whom.
What makes this book even more of a pleasure is that those characters and the
premise make it possible for Mr. Pontius to provide fascinating anecdotes from
the life of his central character, which he does with consummate skill.
© copyright 2002 wakingwalt.com