(2.5) First off, I had to keep a list of characters noting who they were and how they were related to one another because there were so many of them. This was ugly, mean, surreal, vulgar, hellish - Hollywood as the bowels of humanity. Everyone's an opportunist, and anything can be exploited and repackaged as a story for sale. Stylish, vapid, ambitious, competitive wannabes who are forever making deals and empty clever comments meant to impress. There never seems to be a quiet or still moment - these people are always "on". References might be made to zen, but these people don't have a clue. All style and neurosis, and no substance, these people's egos and dysfunctions are protected by a group of professionals who profit from keeping them that way. I had to take frequent breaks from this book to get some air and perspective, and to keep from getting too depressed. It had a very claustrophobic feel, and felt like there was too much of it.It was a little difficult to get used to the writing style, and I don't know that I liked it. Not sure if I'll read any more by this author.
the only word that i can use to describe this book is supercilious. his use of metaphor and imagery was offputting because of the way they were written. it seemed like they were mostly images stuck inside of his own head that he was trying to put on paper but unsuccessfully doing so, when referring to the "skinhead sodomizing her" as a way of saying she had cancer of the bowels. i would normally have liked something like this as it sounds quirky and funny enough, but the way it fits into the rest of the sentence makes it sound pompous and overblown. his sentences feel incomplete and it reads like a police blotter, the pace i mean. this is definitely nowher enear Day of the Locust as far as hollywood novels go.
Do You like book I'm Losing You (1997)?
I just finished rereading this novel about Hollywood by screenwriter/director Wagner and I've got to say, again, it is the most luminously depressing book about the seediness of mankind that I have ever read. Wagner fills his book with agents, producers, actors and screenwriters including a handful of real life stars. All of them are very very pretty and most of them are either vapid or downright evil. Many chapters I read with nausea. People - at least those in Los Angeles - are really terrible, aren't they? Wagner is a more-than-capable wordsmith. His prose is very quippy and adventurous, but sometimes his cleverness becomes distracting.
—Gina
This is an ugly book, beautifully written… I walked away from writing this for a couple weeks to get some perspective. If you’re interested in Hollywood novels, add this to you list. But be warned that there are no happy endings. There are many reprehensible characters and even the seemingly, at first, sympathetic characters end up not having much of our sympathy. It’s many stories that more or less are intertwined. Some of there are disgusting, but compelling, if that makes any sense. On the whole, I’d recommend it if you have a stomach for some degree of personal degradation, as long as it’s for a greater purpose.
—Kevin
