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I Met Someone
An emotional thriller by novelist Bruce Wagner, I Met Someone is the story of a fictional Hollywood marriage on the precipice of disaster—and an enthralling meditation on the world in which we live.
Bruce Wagner’s I Met Someone is the story of Oscar award-winning actress Dusty Wilding, her wife Allegra, a long-lost daughter, and the unspeakable secret hidden beneath the glamor of their lavish, carefully calibrated, celebrity life. After Allegra suffers a miscarriage, Dusty embarks on a search for the daughter she lost at age sixteen and uncovers the answer to a question that has haunted for decades. With riveting suspense, Wagner moves between the perspectives of his characters, revealing their individual trauma and the uncanny connections to each other's past lives. I Met Someone sends the reader down a rabbit hole of the human psyche, with Wagner’s remarkable insights into our collective obsession with great wealth and fame, and surprises with unimaginable plot turns and unexpected fate. Alternately tender, shocking, and poetic, I Met Someone is Wagner’s most captivating and affecting novel yet.
Bruce Wagner’s I Met Someone is the story of Oscar award-winning actress Dusty Wilding, her wife Allegra, a long-lost daughter, and the unspeakable secret hidden beneath the glamor of their lavish, carefully calibrated, celebrity life. After Allegra suffers a miscarriage, Dusty embarks on a search for the daughter she lost at age sixteen and uncovers the answer to a question that has haunted for decades. With riveting suspense, Wagner moves between the perspectives of his characters, revealing their individual trauma and the uncanny connections to each other's past lives. I Met Someone sends the reader down a rabbit hole of the human psyche, with Wagner’s remarkable insights into our collective obsession with great wealth and fame, and surprises with unimaginable plot turns and unexpected fate. Alternately tender, shocking, and poetic, I Met Someone is Wagner’s most captivating and affecting novel yet.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2016
About the author
Bruce Wagner
42 books124 followersBruce Wagner is the author of The Chrysanthemum Palace (a PEN Faulkner fiction award finalist); Still Holding; I'll Let You Go (a PEN USA fiction award finalist); I'm Losing You; and Force Majeure. He lives in Los Angeles.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
March 1, 2016
Bruce Wagner's newest book, 'I Met Someone,' tells the story of a Hollywood starlet who is searching for a daughter she had many years ago while also dealing with the emotional strife of losing an unborn child. Admittedly, this isn't a book that I would normally be drawn to, but after seeing it surface over and over on lists of recommendations, I thought I would see what all the hype is about.
Marketed as an emotional thriller, I was expecting to need a full box of tissues and maybe a therapy session or two. But it wasn't that sort of book - not to say it was a disappointment, but it certainly wasn't what I was expecting. What it was, however, was what I felt was a very human portrayal of what this character was going through. You see, so often we read characters that are awesome in the book, but would never be a real person outside of the novel. But with Bruce Wagner's writing, you always get the sense that these very well could be real people that we are reading about.
Recently I've really been into books that are beautifully written. There's something to be said for escaping into a world that is so eloquently presented that you feel it almost sparkles a bit. I am in awe of the brilliant writing that Bruce Wagner brings to this book. Whether it's describing a beautiful day on set or the drab reality of losing a child, the wording is simply stunning.
What did I think?: I liked this book, but I didn't love it. There were many things that I felt were done well: the settings were perfectly explained, the writing was beautiful, and I felt that the character presentations were very well done and accurate. However, I couldn't get past the name dropping or pretentiousness that some of the characters seemed to embody. I know it's Hollywood and there is an expected sense of self-righteousness, but it felt almost over the top and exaggerated in an otherwise fascinating story.
Who should read it?: If you enjoy beautiful writing, you will not be disappointed by this one. But I think the perfect reader would be someone who finds themselves enamored by the glitz and lifestyles of the rich and famous.
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Marketed as an emotional thriller, I was expecting to need a full box of tissues and maybe a therapy session or two. But it wasn't that sort of book - not to say it was a disappointment, but it certainly wasn't what I was expecting. What it was, however, was what I felt was a very human portrayal of what this character was going through. You see, so often we read characters that are awesome in the book, but would never be a real person outside of the novel. But with Bruce Wagner's writing, you always get the sense that these very well could be real people that we are reading about.
Recently I've really been into books that are beautifully written. There's something to be said for escaping into a world that is so eloquently presented that you feel it almost sparkles a bit. I am in awe of the brilliant writing that Bruce Wagner brings to this book. Whether it's describing a beautiful day on set or the drab reality of losing a child, the wording is simply stunning.
What did I think?: I liked this book, but I didn't love it. There were many things that I felt were done well: the settings were perfectly explained, the writing was beautiful, and I felt that the character presentations were very well done and accurate. However, I couldn't get past the name dropping or pretentiousness that some of the characters seemed to embody. I know it's Hollywood and there is an expected sense of self-righteousness, but it felt almost over the top and exaggerated in an otherwise fascinating story.
Who should read it?: If you enjoy beautiful writing, you will not be disappointed by this one. But I think the perfect reader would be someone who finds themselves enamored by the glitz and lifestyles of the rich and famous.
WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
March 2, 2016
When I pick up a book by Bruce Wagner I know I will be staggered by the beauty of his prose (see quote below), laugh at his unfailingly wicked sense of humor, and be left with unanswered questions--meaning, I will ponder it for a long time after I put it down. I Met Someone, delivers on all these counts.
Here's a favorite passage:
"To Dusty, doubles brought with them an inadvertent whiff of the sacred that both charmed and mesmerized. Like denuded dream statuary, they came to represent Woman, bountiful and bottomless and eternal. Staring at the loop of herself-as-the-other-as-herself, the actress zoned out and sunk deep, in full fathom of the immanent familiar: that inscrutable, almost sardonically knowing face that represented her own.
It was empty and serene, riveting as an ancient bulletin or the light from dead stars."
Like his other novels that navigate the Hollywood terrain, I Met Someone, reads like satire, but isn't. Check out West of Eden by Jean Stein and you will see that Wagner's fictions are no stranger than fact. But those who write his work off as merely insider riffs on the Hollywood scene are missing the gravitas that is present in all his work. This author always plays in the mystical and ineffable, whether he's writing about the latest TMZ sensation or the tragedy of loss.
Like the Hollywood dream itself, I Met Someone is at turns poetically sublime, and turn-your-face-away crude. This book will astonish, confound, and break your heart. I strongly recommend.
Here's a favorite passage:
"To Dusty, doubles brought with them an inadvertent whiff of the sacred that both charmed and mesmerized. Like denuded dream statuary, they came to represent Woman, bountiful and bottomless and eternal. Staring at the loop of herself-as-the-other-as-herself, the actress zoned out and sunk deep, in full fathom of the immanent familiar: that inscrutable, almost sardonically knowing face that represented her own.
It was empty and serene, riveting as an ancient bulletin or the light from dead stars."
Like his other novels that navigate the Hollywood terrain, I Met Someone, reads like satire, but isn't. Check out West of Eden by Jean Stein and you will see that Wagner's fictions are no stranger than fact. But those who write his work off as merely insider riffs on the Hollywood scene are missing the gravitas that is present in all his work. This author always plays in the mystical and ineffable, whether he's writing about the latest TMZ sensation or the tragedy of loss.
Like the Hollywood dream itself, I Met Someone is at turns poetically sublime, and turn-your-face-away crude. This book will astonish, confound, and break your heart. I strongly recommend.
February 29, 2016
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
Ugh. Not good. That's all I have to say. So stereotypical, so one dimensional, so boring. Just not good. Avoid, avoid, avoid.
Ugh. Not good. That's all I have to say. So stereotypical, so one dimensional, so boring. Just not good. Avoid, avoid, avoid.
March 1, 2016
The eloquently written but nauseatingly discomfiting kind of tale Wagner has built a career on has finally met an accessibility his previous (and largely superior) novels lacked. Absolutely no one can touch him and humiliation would await anyone who tried to emulate the high-wire act only he can perform: his Joycean flourish; a manic, satirical irony that would decimate any smug millennial; a sense of ghoulish humor that could embarrass the most hardened dark web dweller.
Though his signature verbosity and stunning cadence is noticeably absent here and there, there is a certain festivity in watching him tone down the linguistic pyrotechnics in service to a plot-driven, black-hearted calliope of a story.
Though his signature verbosity and stunning cadence is noticeably absent here and there, there is a certain festivity in watching him tone down the linguistic pyrotechnics in service to a plot-driven, black-hearted calliope of a story.
February 27, 2016
This review was originally posted on [www.125pages.com]
I Met Someone was so close to being the first book I have ever DNF'd. It was just so not for me. I opened with a self absorbed star name dropping like it was her full time job, moved to a young man who did things for the LULZ (and then explained that LULZ were a step beyond an LOL) and good lord the selfishness that abounded. Then a bright shining spot. Around 13% in, there was a section that was just moving. Full of emotion and depth, I was hooked. Then it got worse, and then worse, and then just so much no. This is marketed as a suspense/thriller and it is not. It is a contemporary fiction about awful people, doing awful things to people they supposedly love. To say much more would require spoilers and I am not about that. So I will just say I just did not like I Met Someone; if that one bright shining moment could have carried through I would have loved it. Bruce Wagner has a unique voice and he can connect with readers, just not this one.
Favorite lines - No, if she was going to be unfaithful, she’d feel better about waiting until her spouse wasn’t so miserable, so vulnerable. It was too easy.
Biggest cliché - I'm sorry, I appear to have dropped something. Can you please pick up that name for me?
Have you read I Met Someone, or added it to your TBR?
I Met Someone was so close to being the first book I have ever DNF'd. It was just so not for me. I opened with a self absorbed star name dropping like it was her full time job, moved to a young man who did things for the LULZ (and then explained that LULZ were a step beyond an LOL) and good lord the selfishness that abounded. Then a bright shining spot. Around 13% in, there was a section that was just moving. Full of emotion and depth, I was hooked. Then it got worse, and then worse, and then just so much no. This is marketed as a suspense/thriller and it is not. It is a contemporary fiction about awful people, doing awful things to people they supposedly love. To say much more would require spoilers and I am not about that. So I will just say I just did not like I Met Someone; if that one bright shining moment could have carried through I would have loved it. Bruce Wagner has a unique voice and he can connect with readers, just not this one.Favorite lines - No, if she was going to be unfaithful, she’d feel better about waiting until her spouse wasn’t so miserable, so vulnerable. It was too easy.
Biggest cliché - I'm sorry, I appear to have dropped something. Can you please pick up that name for me?
Have you read I Met Someone, or added it to your TBR?
August 29, 2023
It is precisely Wagner's willingness to describe our world as it is that makes this book and his others so brilliant. The critics often slam Wagner for wasting his formidable talent as a writer (the man can turn a phrase!) on lowbrow subject matter but this assessment misses the point. Distasteful as it may be to delicate critical sensibilities, Wagner’s universe is governed by TMZ and his citizens pledge allegiance to their inalienable right to unfettered narcissism and the pursuit of fame. Wagner approaches our Kardashian zeitgeist with scholarly anthropological rigour and plenty of humour. He uncovers depth in the superficial and meaning in the seemingly meaningless. That said, he is not a redeemer of pop culture, he is simply an astute observer of the machinery. In this way his is a bit like a Zizek of the fiction world.
June 17, 2018
I loved this book. I don't even know what to say. It is so fluidly written, so intuitive, describing the things many of us feel or have experienced but w/ a writer's fine understanding of the nuances and details that go behind all of our various and conflicting emotions. It's rare to read a book and say, yes, THAT, that is exactly how I felt that time when (esp when one has nothing in common w/ the characters, at least on the surface)...Besides that, there are some plot twists that even I, who is never, ever surprised/sees every plot twist coming, was stunned by. Like WHOA stunned. Total credit to the author his amazing writing and having a lot of originality. As background, this novel centers around a female celebrity, who is like a modern-day Liz Taylor type, a grand dame, well-loved and critically praised, who also happens to be a lesbian and has a young wife. She has a mommy dearest thing going on with her mother and has her whole past history of her life. In the meantime, the other characters, including her gay BFF, an extra on one of her movies who is dealing with the repercussions of her divorce, are trying to understand their desires for their lives as they evolve and change, all amidst the Hollywood celeb life (w/ celeb cameos!), which is fun to read about too. I wasn't thrilled with the ending, but it was a good way to end it. I can see why this writer is a screenwriter. The whole novel itself was better than any movie I've ever seen. My friends know Asma's 3 rules for a great novel. This one actually only has met 1 of the rules, maybe 1.5. And I wouldn't say that this is a "great novel." This is like something else altogether. This is not a novel. This is like a graphic novel but without pictures. The writing is so vivid and alive that calling it a mere novel is not right. I know that sounds strange, but read it, and maybe you will see what I mean. I'm excited to read the author's other works and watch the movies he has worked on.
February 27, 2016
I got an ARC of this book for a review. I had a very hard time with this book and could not finish it, which almost never happens. The reason I was interested in this book because it starred a LGBT main character in a book targeted at the general reading public. But as soon as I started reading, that didn't matter anymore. The first word that pops into my head when reading was pretentious. It feels like the author is trying to proof in the most obnoxious way possible that he is educated and smart with a big vocabulary of fancy words. The italics were also horribly annoying. I assume they were meant to emphasize a word in direct speech but nobody speaks that way. The reason why I don't talk about the story is because I got so annoyed with all the technical details that I really didn't care anymore whether the story was good or not.
August 18, 2016
Cousin Brucie does it again, in a riff on the MULHOLLAND/PERSONA/3 WOMEN pairing that is crueler, more cosmically astounding and at least AS tender as all of the above. Read it while listening to...https://youtu.be/R9Pn2Y_A6Kk.
June 1, 2022
At this time in his life, feelings of doubt concerning his own judgement pursued Jeremy with fair regularity, and it didn't take much--say, impulsively inviting two freaks he'd met at the park to a fancy watering hole--to lead him to that most inane of philosophical questions, "Who am I?" (With its popular corollary, And what the f*ck am I doing here? ) Perhaps he intuited that Devi had the answer, or at least might be inclined to point him in the general direction.
First two sentences: They sat in cushioned chairs at a burnished roundtable. The lighting was reverential, spiritual, evoking the mahogany jewel box temple of an Emirates airport lounge.
Dusty Wilding is an award-winning actress. In her 50's and at her prime, she's also a groundbreaker. She decided to risk her career and openly admit to being a Lesbian. She and her younger wife (age 37) have had a successful marriage, but they have recently hit a rough patch. Allegra (her wife), suffers a miscarriage that devastates them. In the wake of the loss, Dusty decides to finally attempt to hunt down her daughter who was given away almost from birth.
My two cents: This novel has one of the lowest average ratings on Good reads of any book that I've read. After literally forcing myself to finish it, I can see why. While the prose is technically superior to the average bodice-ripper romance, the story arc itself is all over the map. Wagner doesn't use chapters. The entire book is loosely connected scenes and streams of consciousness. Some reviewers mention that the book was billed as an "emotional thriller." I'd say a more apt description is an unlikely plot device meant to mess with readers' minds. I would have given it my lowest rating, but the prose gives it a slight bump. Rated 1 star or "bad". Not recommended. :(
Other quotes: "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away."
~~Perhaps in such hopeful quietude love resided.
First two sentences: They sat in cushioned chairs at a burnished roundtable. The lighting was reverential, spiritual, evoking the mahogany jewel box temple of an Emirates airport lounge.
Dusty Wilding is an award-winning actress. In her 50's and at her prime, she's also a groundbreaker. She decided to risk her career and openly admit to being a Lesbian. She and her younger wife (age 37) have had a successful marriage, but they have recently hit a rough patch. Allegra (her wife), suffers a miscarriage that devastates them. In the wake of the loss, Dusty decides to finally attempt to hunt down her daughter who was given away almost from birth.
My two cents: This novel has one of the lowest average ratings on Good reads of any book that I've read. After literally forcing myself to finish it, I can see why. While the prose is technically superior to the average bodice-ripper romance, the story arc itself is all over the map. Wagner doesn't use chapters. The entire book is loosely connected scenes and streams of consciousness. Some reviewers mention that the book was billed as an "emotional thriller." I'd say a more apt description is an unlikely plot device meant to mess with readers' minds. I would have given it my lowest rating, but the prose gives it a slight bump. Rated 1 star or "bad". Not recommended. :(
Other quotes: "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away."
~~Perhaps in such hopeful quietude love resided.
March 5, 2020
I liked the writing: these characters were presented in full, Hollywood talk ("love Hollywood") which was fun to read. The plot is very up to date, and the setting is luxury.
June 18, 2016
I wish it was possible to give less than one star to this book. The thought that kept running through my head about this book when I finally decided to abandon it was "Free at last! Free at last!" I have given up on perhaps two to three books in my lifetime of reading. I tried, really tried, to get through this book, but after reading 100 pages and skimming about 50 more, I just couldn't finish it. The characters are pretentious self-involved name-droppers whose italicized speech patterns are annoying to read. The only redeeming moments in the story occurred in the two scenes I read in which Dusty returned to Utah to meet with an old boyfriend and a former neighbor. There was no "riveting suspense" as promised in the description of the book and so I'm happy to move on.
I received a review copy of this book from Penguin's First to Read program in exchange for my review.
I received a review copy of this book from Penguin's First to Read program in exchange for my review.
January 23, 2016
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Ugh, this book was a total letdown. 100 pages in and I still had no idea where this book was going and what was actually going on. The book reads exactly how I would envision Hollywood to be- artificial, lots of name dropping, lots of a** kissing and absolutely no substance. I just couldn't do it any more.
I know I was reading an unedited copy, but the run on sentences made it very hard to follow and why are so many words in italics? Maybe these are meant to be this way or maybe it will be corrected in the final copy.
I can't in good conscience recommend this book as I couldn't even finish it.
Ugh, this book was a total letdown. 100 pages in and I still had no idea where this book was going and what was actually going on. The book reads exactly how I would envision Hollywood to be- artificial, lots of name dropping, lots of a** kissing and absolutely no substance. I just couldn't do it any more.
I know I was reading an unedited copy, but the run on sentences made it very hard to follow and why are so many words in italics? Maybe these are meant to be this way or maybe it will be corrected in the final copy.
I can't in good conscience recommend this book as I couldn't even finish it.
February 1, 2016
An ambitiously trashy tale that draws upon the usual Wagner tropes - lifestyles of the rich and malcontent intertwined with mysterious figures from the seedy Los Angeles underbelly. Wagner's expansive writing style creates a uniquely operatic slice-of-life; he drops names, satirizes pseudo-spirituality, considers ex-cult members, examines internet infamy. The writing veers from poetic to painfully self-indulgent (there is one character who speaks as if she's constantly delivering Anna Paquin's monologue from "The Piano", and it grates.) All in all, however, this is a strong book - Wagner delivers a morally gray and often disturbing tale about fractured families.
Read
March 27, 2016A sort of greek tragedy in the guise of a show business soap opera...the most interesting sections concerned new age cults and gurus...I'll have to think more on this one before I write a proper review...
October 26, 2016
Free copy from netgalley for an honest review and honestly? I couldn't get past what has to be in paper about 30 pages.
July 9, 2020
Started this book and didn’t get very far before I had to stop. I don’t love the layout of the back and forth between characters with no real divide. But I could probably get passed that if the content was worth it.
Everything was italicized which really bugged me and it made me not enjoy the way the characters spoke, and as if they all spoke exactly the same. The way he talked about the pregnancy and just floated over what seemed to be a previous miscarriage? Then talking about the woman getting high and drunk during her pregnancy. I officially gave up when he used the gay man to utter a phrase along the lines of “I would totally molest him” when referring to an attraction; it felt like a cheap way to use some kind of gay stereotype for a joke along with throwing around abusive words.
I never give up on books, but I just couldn’t see myself moving on from the very early stages.
Everything was italicized which really bugged me and it made me not enjoy the way the characters spoke, and as if they all spoke exactly the same. The way he talked about the pregnancy and just floated over what seemed to be a previous miscarriage? Then talking about the woman getting high and drunk during her pregnancy. I officially gave up when he used the gay man to utter a phrase along the lines of “I would totally molest him” when referring to an attraction; it felt like a cheap way to use some kind of gay stereotype for a joke along with throwing around abusive words.
I never give up on books, but I just couldn’t see myself moving on from the very early stages.
April 6, 2020
Couldn't finish this book. Flicking back and forth between characters, found it hard to get a grip on what was actually happening. First time never finished a book!
August 22, 2021
Bruce Wagner proves that he is indeed Jonathan Franzen’s icy west coast counterpart.
July 13, 2023
Really disliked the characters and didn't care about them. All of the name dropping got old.
March 16, 2017
The sort of novel I wish Goodreads allowed half-stars for, so I could give it 3.5. At first it's a comedy of manners about a post-cis Hollywood of lesbian power couples and wealthy Buddhist searchers. When things take a melodramatic turn in the third act, Wagner pulls a neat twist on the old Hollywood plot of the self-sacrificing single mother. The denouement is an extended dark take parenthood and redemption, wherein chilling sacrifices are extracted from the younger generation as well.
October 9, 2016
From the cover: An emotional thriller by novelist Bruce Wagner, I Met Someone is the story of a fictional Hollywood marriage on the precipice of disaster—and an enthralling meditation on the world in which we live. Bruce Wagner’s I Met Someone is the story of Oscar award-winning actress Dusty Wilding, her wife Allegra, a long-lost daughter, and the unspeakable secret hidden beneath the glamor of their lavish, carefully calibrated, celebrity life. After Allegra suffers a miscarriage, Dusty embarks on a search for the daughter she lost at age sixteen and uncovers the answer to a question that has haunted for decades. With riveting suspense, Wagner moves between the perspectives of his characters, revealing their individual trauma and the uncanny connections to each other's past lives. I Met Someone sends the reader down a rabbit hole of the human psyche, with Wagner’s remarkable insights into our collective obsession with great wealth and fame, and surprises with unimaginable plot turns and unexpected fate. Alternately tender, shocking, and poetic, I Met Someone is Wagner’s most captivating and affecting novel yet.
I received the book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.
If I don’t like the characters I don’t like the book and I DID NOT like the characters. They were shallow and self-absorbed. However, they could almost have been real people-I know people that are self-absorbed. I forced myself to finish the book. It was a difficult read for me. The cover reads that it’s a ‘thriller’ well it’s not.
I received the book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.
If I don’t like the characters I don’t like the book and I DID NOT like the characters. They were shallow and self-absorbed. However, they could almost have been real people-I know people that are self-absorbed. I forced myself to finish the book. It was a difficult read for me. The cover reads that it’s a ‘thriller’ well it’s not.
March 9, 2016
Obviously the writer has a very poor view of the people in Hollywood. The idea that everything is bigger in Hollywood is big in this story. It starts out with Dusty Wilding, a 50 something movie star. It made me think of a Meryl Streep type and her younger wife, Allegra. Allegra is pregnant for the second time and again loses this baby. They both start dealing with their own issues. They also have their good friend whom is wanting to now hire a surrogate. This book was absolute trash. I made myself finish and, trust me, it was no easy feat. Stars names are dropped every other word. It is explicit, people going behind each other's back, just garbage. I deserve a medal for finishing it. I would give it negative stars if I could but because I finished it, the ending had somewhat of a touching part so I would have put it at 2 stars. I don't see any point of this book other than being a complete, satirical book on Hollywood. At least I hope satirical as I would lose any and all respect for celebrities if this is a normal accounting of what goes on.
July 6, 2017
I picked up I Met Someone because it used the words “Hollywood actress” in the synopsis and that is a junk food reading trigger for me. Add “emotional thriller” and I’m there. My bad. No, actually, the author’s bad because if he had held true to the core of the plot as a contemporary drama about a Hollywood lesbian power couple and owned the bling, extravagance, and superficiality of that lifestyle the novel might have worked. Adding in ancillary plots about a teenage hacker who works for Anonymous, is estranged from his father, whose mother is a stand-in for the actress, some twists involving the healthcare system, being forced to give a child up for adoption and well, it goes on from there.
Even then, the novel could have been outrageous, campy fun or satire. Instead what is essentially a Jackie Collins plot is wrapped in Faulknerian prose. I Met Someone is bedazzled with five words when only one was needed leaving the book to sink under its own weight.
Even then, the novel could have been outrageous, campy fun or satire. Instead what is essentially a Jackie Collins plot is wrapped in Faulknerian prose. I Met Someone is bedazzled with five words when only one was needed leaving the book to sink under its own weight.
May 24, 2016
I like Bruce Wagner's (or "Wags" as I call him) work, even though it's often trippy for the sake of being trippy, dated, sexist, odd, and dense.
This book is among his most readable and enjoyable (I skimmed through a lot of the spiritual nonsense stuff that bored me to tears) and it has a genuine plot twist that astute readers (not me, I'm a big dum-dum) may see coming, or may be startled by, and then interested in how on earth this will work out.
I always like the incisive, sharp, and dark commentary on Hollywood and having just watched "Maps to the Stars" just a few days before reading this book, I found it easy to picture the characters and surroundings. The movie and book make good companion pieces and I am pretty sure the main character is a kind of mix of Nicole Kidman and Julienne Moore, which makes it a juicy, speculative read.
This book is among his most readable and enjoyable (I skimmed through a lot of the spiritual nonsense stuff that bored me to tears) and it has a genuine plot twist that astute readers (not me, I'm a big dum-dum) may see coming, or may be startled by, and then interested in how on earth this will work out.
I always like the incisive, sharp, and dark commentary on Hollywood and having just watched "Maps to the Stars" just a few days before reading this book, I found it easy to picture the characters and surroundings. The movie and book make good companion pieces and I am pretty sure the main character is a kind of mix of Nicole Kidman and Julienne Moore, which makes it a juicy, speculative read.
February 27, 2016
I received this book from Net Galley for an honest review ...
Unfortunately this wouldn't be one of my favourite books, were you ever reading a book and think to yourself I have read something similar to this before!! It lost my interest after the first few chapters and been honest I couldn't wait to get to the end of the book X
Unfortunately this wouldn't be one of my favourite books, were you ever reading a book and think to yourself I have read something similar to this before!! It lost my interest after the first few chapters and been honest I couldn't wait to get to the end of the book X
April 25, 2016
The author has a good and intelligent writing style but I just could not get into this book. The beginning goes on and on about Hollywood stars and other things I could not relate too and I did not care about the characters. I received this as a Goodreads giveaway and wanted to like it but I couldn't.
May 29, 2016
a touching story of an older film star and her life in l.a.: wife, agent, therapist, various hangers-on. there was a tertiary plot line involving a guru-type and his follower which i have to admit i mostly skimmed, but otherwise it was a fun quick read that was entertaining, emotional, and fulfilling.
April 17, 2016
This book was difficult for me to read because the characters were so self-absorbed that it became challenging to empathize with them. They were certainly believable, due to good writing, but when surprises and twists occurred, I was less involved emotionally than I would have liked to have been.
September 23, 2016
Ugly story, totally unlikeable characters. The author seemed to be bent on proving he could give us the dope on what Hollywood is really like but I just couldn't find it in myself to keep reading this trashy book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews