Customer Reviews
For me reading this book was work. The shifting of time periods and a mystery of some sort around every primary character was hard to follow in this one. Yet the subject coverage of old Hollywood and its blacklist to modern day MeToo movement kept me in the struggle. A mostly satisfying ending with mysteries explained fairly well.
Such a well written story, easy to follow the double timeline. A definite love/hate relationship with the heroine but so worth the read.
You will find this book more interesting if you already know some of the history of Hollywood. Well crafted, with perhaps too many mysteries initially withheld by the author and then revealed and not revealed or perhaps dismissed as coincidences. I struggled with a Grandfather referred to as "Gran," which I thought might be because the author wasn't American, as well as a later description of an important character dozens of pages after his eyes were described as the color of a Golden Retriever's. The novel has reasonable complexity, and the author does an excellent job bringing to life the tensions of the blacklist era of Hollywood, which feels closer and closer to today these days. I often don't like books about writers or movies about Hollywood, but this one had great atmosphere and held my attention. Congratulations to the author.
Keeping up with who is who was a major struggle. I read a lot. This book was way down on my list of books to recommend
My goodness Meg! This wonderful book grabbed my interest and my heart from the very beginning. The dual timelines, the story of early Jewish family separations and losses, the McCarthy era blacklisting of Hollywood writers and actors, and the familiar to me backdrop of Carmel that really hasn't changed much over the years. I could smell and feel the wonderful ocean breeze due to your complete but not overwhelming description. And the characters? Oh my, they became so real. I highly recommend this book after listening to the audio version along with the ebook. Now, I will add the hardbound copy to my limited home library.
