Lauren Acampora has written a dark gem of a novel, filled with characters who are both sketches and yet also fully realized portraits of tortured souls in deep, internal crises.
Employing a first person style that allows her to explore her main character’s thoughts while also shielding her from the reader’s attempts at guessing ultimate actions, Acampora has done a masterly job of giving us an anti-hero that we will both sympathize with and recoil at when the novel reaches its finale. She writes of a Hollywood culture that will seem very familiar to anyone keen to watch a blockbuster film or follow the actions of the latest “it” actor or actress. But this novel should not be viewed solely as a cautionary tale of Hollywood chewing up the human soul. This more gets at the question of how tainted those souls might already be to begin with.
This is a fever dream of a story that is only too eager to drive down the rabbit hole into darkness. You would be remiss if you missed your chance to experience it.
Employing a first person style that allows her to explore her main character’s thoughts while also shielding her from the reader’s attempts at guessing ultimate actions, Acampora has done a masterly job of giving us an anti-hero that we will both sympathize with and recoil at when the novel reaches its finale. She writes of a Hollywood culture that will seem very familiar to anyone keen to watch a blockbuster film or follow the actions of the latest “it” actor or actress. But this novel should not be viewed solely as a cautionary tale of Hollywood chewing up the human soul. This more gets at the question of how tainted those souls might already be to begin with.
This is a fever dream of a story that is only too eager to drive down the rabbit hole into darkness. You would be remiss if you missed your chance to experience it.