Sidney Poitier: Actor, Director, Novelist

While browsing the "New Fiction" shelves at the Morningside Heights branch of the New York Public Library, I came upon a novel by legendary actor Sidney Poitier called Montaro Caine (Spiegel & Grau, 2013). I immediately took it off the shelf and turned to the inside front flap to read its plot description.

According to the front flap copy, the novel tells the story of Montaro Caine, a corporate CEO, in whose office is brought "a coin of unknown provenance, composed of a metal unknown to Earth." The flap copy goes on to tell the prospective reader that "the value of the coin lies not in its monetary worth but in its hold on the people who come into contact with it."

I was disappointed after reading about the plot of the novel. I was hoping that Poitier, one of my favorite actors, had written a novel from the perspective of a young black male actor attempting to build a successful film career. If Poitier had done that, he would have given his readers-- and fans--another insider's unique look at Hollywood, warts and all.