I guess continuing on the theme of last week, Hollywood will get me every time.
They say not to judge a book by its cover (and “they” are cliche, to say the least, and I apologize that this is the reference), but it’s not so bad to do so when a cover that’s reminiscent of Where’d You Go Bernadette? gets you to read a book like Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures. As if the title isn’t interest-piquing enough, they’ll get you with the Hepburn-esque lady on the front of the book.
I’m suddenly hit with a little sadness over my lack of bookstore shopping or library wandering- while you can see arguably more covers on Amazon, there’s a little oversaturation there. Finding a great cover in a Borders or having a bright one peek out from library stacks? Much more satisfying.
That aside, this is a strong, strong work of fiction. The book follows actress Laura Lamont over the course of decades, understanding her life before, during and after fame. Even if the book weren’t about an actress, I could still see being totally captivated by the base story itself- girl from small town ends up in big town and navigates it expertly. (Okay, fine. It really mostly works for Hollywood.)
I’m not sure what else there is to say about it besides that it is a well written book with nicely developed characters- you get to know a lot of them really well, and no one really falls through the cracks.
You’ll like this if: you like good fiction that takes you through time with the (mostly) same cast of characters.
Happy reading!
carlyreads 